Committee approves TIP amendments, programs federal funds to shore up signal project

The Greater Lafayette Area Transportation & Development Study Technical Transportation Committee on April 15 approved amendments to the FY2026–2030 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) requested by the Indiana Department of Transportation and programmed additional MPO federal funds to address a higher-than-expected bid for a signal upgrade.

Doug Poad, planning staff for the Area Plan Commission, told the committee INDOT requested updates to 10 projects: eight existing projects would be updated, one new sidewalk ramp project would be added between Cumberland and Airport Road on US 52, and a road maintenance project at the Veterans Home would be removed because INDOT will no longer handle it. The packet also shows schedule and funding adjustments for multiple projects, including signal modernization work on Ross Road, Teal Road, and Dale Drive that has shifted to 2027 and a right-of-way date change for a US 52 bridge project.

Stu Kline moved to approve the INDOT-requested amendment; Bill Smith seconded and the motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Poad also presented an APC amendment to program additional federal funds. Staff reported an extra federal FY26 allocation that appears in the transcript as $68,668 (another line lists $68,338). Poad said the funds could raise the Emergency Vehicle Preemption project’s match from 90/10 toward an 80/20 split after “the lowest bid came in over the engineer’s estimate by about $150,000,” which otherwise jeopardized the project’s funding structure.

The amendment also recorded a trade of federal funds with the Bloomington MPO. That trade reflected an original figure of $2,227,010 that staff rounded to $2.3 million to simplify accounting, leaving a $2,990 difference; with Jeromy Grenard’s approval, staff will take that $2,990 from the South 9th Street construction phase to balance the trade. Jenny Miller moved to approve the trade and the funding reallocation; Jeromy Grenard seconded and the motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

Staff then presented an updated federal FY27 allocation reduced by $73,025 and offered three options to absorb the cut: (A) remove the full amount from either South 9th Street or Emergency Vehicle Preemption; (B) allocate the reduction proportionally across the two projects; or (C) spread the cut across three projects (including CR 600N/50W). Bill Smith moved to select option C; Jeromy Grenard seconded and the motion carried by unanimous voice vote.

What happens next: the TIP amendments and the APC fund programming were approved by the committee and will be reflected in the MPO’s project lists and funding tables; staff will proceed with the fund transfers and bid reconciliation steps described at the meeting.