Public Works Committee Passes Infrastructure Funding

INDIANAPOLIS — Proposal 106 recently passed unanimously out of the Indianapolis City-County Council’s Public Works Committee. The proposal appropriates $8 million in Supplemental County Income Tax to fund infrastructure improvements for neighborhoods.
Proposal 106 includes $1.5 million dedicated to scoping pedestrian safety improvements such as enhancements to sidewalks, crosswalks, and curb ramps along eight corridors, identified in coordination with IndyGo, as most in need of safety upgrades for pedestrians and transit users. The scoping effort will allow the City to apply for funding through the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program in 2024 to construct improvements in the following years. The funds appropriated by the City for scoping will be matched by a $1.5 million contribution from IndyGo, the City’s partner in the 2024 SS4A application.
An additional $500,000 will be appropriated as matching funds for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities grant award. The award funds a planning study around the recessed leg of the I-65/I-70 Downtown Inner Loop, specifically focused on the area around Virginia Avenue, examining how to create more livable, reconnected communities around the interstate.
Proposal 106 also appropriates $6 million for Mayor Joe Hogsett’s five-year, $1.1 billion capital plan, which is delivering improvements to Indianapolis roads, bridges, stormwater system, and bike and pedestrian infrastructure. In 2023, the first year of the plan, $443 million is being invested in infrastructure projects such as a pavement rehabilitation along Post Road; a two-way conversion of Michigan and New York streets to calm traffic and improve safety; and a project improving drainage and rehabbing pavement on North Meridian Street.
Proposal 106 is scheduled for a vote by the full City-County Council on May 8.