CHECKOFF INVESTMENT
ICMA and ISA invested in a series of studies to support the improvement of rural roads and bridges in Indiana. A report commissioned by ISA and ICMC from the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, is creating a template for tracking conditions each year using data newly available in an electronic format.
Report on rural roads, bridges to help set repair priorities BY DAVE BLOWER JR.
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or many drivers, roads and bridges aren’t noticed until they’re in need of repair. Indiana farmers know that good, reliable roads and bridges provide the access they need to get their harvested crops from their farms to the world around them. Since 2016, the Indiana General Assembly has taken a number of critical actions to increase funding for the state’s rural roads and bridges. The need for good ongoing conditions, activity and spending data has been a consistent focus throughout these policy discussions. As a result, county agencies have been required to collect conditions data and complete asset management plans in order to access Community Crossings Matching Grant funding. The Community Crossing Matching Grant program is offered by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to provide state funding to assist county and municipal governments with local road and bridge projects. In 2020, the grant program provided $126.5 million in matching funds to 214 counties and communities. The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and the Indiana Corn
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INDIANA CORN & SOYBEAN POST
Marketing Council (ICMC) have invested in a series of studies to support the improvement of rural roads and bridges in the state. ISA commissioned a report from the Indiana University (IU) Public Policy Institute to create a template for tracking conditions and progress each year using data newly available in an electronic format. The IU report provides an initial data template, an analysis which uses the template and available data, and recommendations for improvements using the data collection. It’s just the beginning of a system for tracking improvements across the rural road and bridge network. “Good rural road and bridge infrastructure is critical to efficient farm-to-market movement of agricultural products,” said Mike Koehne, an ISA board member and a Greensburg, Ind., farmer. “This study is a good investment of farmers’ dollars because tracking good infrastructure helps us to move soybeans and corn better in an already competitive market.” The 43 study counties in the IU report account for 49 percent of the road miles (31,244 of 63,373 miles) managed
