Gary Crusader staff report
Gary has been awarded $1 million in state roads and bridges funds that will aid greatly in efforts to improve the condition of many of the city’s streets.
Lt. Governor Eric Holcomb and Indiana Department of Transportation Brandye Hendrickson announced August 24 that Gary is among the 121 communities in northern Indiana to receive Indiana’s Community Crossings Grant, a 50/50 matching grant.
The news comes at a time when residents are putting more pressure on City Hall to repair battered roads in their neighborhoods. At a community meeting two days before the announcement, some residents told Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson that they have grown frustrated by roads that have not been repaired for years.
In the summer of 2014, Gary announced a $6.4 million street paving project that would target street repairs citywide. The city has since made great strides in paving main thoroughfares and streets throughout the city. The City’s Public Works Department is now preparing for the next round of paving for 2016.
While paving continues throughout the city, the Community Crossings Grant has been earmarked for road reconstruction and paving connected to Economic Development and Redevelopment projects currently underway in the city.
Freeman-Wilson said, “We are excited to receive this funding that will specifically be used for street improvements and paving related to our Northside Redevelopment and University Park projects. This is great news as we move forward with these projects, but more importantly for our community and the opportunity for job creation for Gary residents.”
Northside Redevelopment includes the Horace Mann area, Emerson, Downtown, Aetna and the Miller community. University Park includes the areas surrounding Indiana University Northwest and Ivy Tech Community College.
Areas slated for paving through the recent award include: 8th Ave from Mississippi to Grant Street, 37th Avenue from Grant Street to Georgia Street, 35th Street from Broadway to Martin Luther King Boulevard, Georgia Street from 39th St. to I-90/I-84, Montgomery Street from 1st Street to Oak Street, Hemlock from Lake Street to Grand Street, 10th Street from Lake Street to Aetna Street, Virginia Street from 5th Ave. to Central Ave., 7th Ave. from Grant Street to Wabash Street and Aetna Street from 37th to 35th St.
