Published: June 25, 2009 02:46 pm      

Federal grant to help fund portion of parkway

Sen. Connie Lawson (R-Danville) announced Thursday that the Ronald Reagan Parkway project will receive $533,520 from the federal government’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

County Commissioner Eric Wathen said he expects the earmark to cover design costs from County Road 100 South to C.R. 200 S. along the north-south corridor.

“We appreciate Connie for what she does for us at the state level,” Wathen said. “We’re happy to get an appropriation from the Feds to continue design of the parkway. Obviously, they feel this is an important project that needs to be funded.”

The county also recently received a $13 million appropriation from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization for the parkway. That grant is expected to pay for a bridge spanning the CSX rail yard in Avon from U.S. 36 to C.R. 100 S. The Town of Avon also has pledged $2.25 million toward the parkway. Construction should start this fall.

Once complete, the parkway will connect Interstate 70 and Indianapolis International Airport to I-74 in Boone County.

“Construction of the Ronald Reagan Parkway is a great economic tool that will help attract future industrial, commercial, and residential developments in our communities,” Lawson said in a statement. “It will also provide residents and visitors a much-needed north-south corridor that should help ease congestion on I-465.”

The final piece of the parkway is the section up north from C.R. 300 N. to I-74. Wathen estimates cost of construction there to be $20 million.

“It’s going to be difficult to find funding, but I think once we have the rest of the parkway completed we’ll be able to put pressure on the state and hopefully get more earmarks,” he said.



wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com