The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes significant funding for transportation infrastructure improvement projects in Indiana.  The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will oversee formula driven funds dedicated to transportation projects including highways, bridges and transit capital such as rail and airport projects.  According to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the stimulus funds will be distributed in this way:

The $198 million local agency distribution – specific dollar amounts that have not yet been determined – will be divided among the 14 Metropolitan Planning Organizations in Indiana, Group III cities (populations between 5,000 and 50,000), Group IV cities (populations under 5,000), and local bridge projects.

Transportation Infrastructure: Project Lists

To date, INDOT has released twelve lists of projects for bid that will use federal stimulus dollars.  Indiana has advertised and/or awarded an estimated $346 million for state projects and $120 million for local and MPO projects, representing a total of 643 projects in 89 counties.

The lists below identify ARRA-funded INDOT projects which have been released for bids.  Within each document individual pages contain the details of a single project, including: project location, letting date, bid information, and award information (if available). 

2009 Bid Lettings

• December 9 Bid Letting
• November 18 Bid Letting
• October 21 Bid Letting
• September 23 Bid Letting
• August 26 Bid Letting
• August 5 Bid Letting
• July 29 Bid Letting
• July 1 Bid Letting
• June 24 Bid Letting
• June 3 Bid Letting 
• May 20 Bid Letting 
• April 22 Bid Letting 
• March 25 Bid Letting 
• February 27 Bid Letting 

For detailed information including project criteria and contract rules, please click here.

Mass Transit:

Public transportation systems in Indiana will be eligible for over $80 million in federal stimulus funds.  The funds may be used for capital projects, which include purchasing transit vehicles, building or renovating transit facilities, and purchasing communication equipment.  Over $60 million of these funds are for the urban systems and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, and will be administered directly by the Federal Transit Administration. 

Approximately $20 million is available for the rural transit program which includes $3 million for intercity bus projects.  The intercity funds will be awarded by a competitive selection process to intercity carriers and the rural transit funds will be allocated by formula to Indiana’s 45 rural transit systems.  Any unused funds will be reallocated within the rural transit systems as necessary to fully utilize the state’s apportionment.  These funds will be administered by INDOT’s Transit Office.

Aviation:

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will distribute Indiana’s portion of the stimulus funds through its Chicago office.  INDOT’s Aviation office worked with Indiana’s 67 airports eligible for federal funds and compiled over $100 million of potential airport projects in addition to any requests submitted directly by Indianapolis International Airport.  The list of projects was submitted to the FAA in December 2008.  The FAA has sole responsibility to determine which airport projects receive stimulus funds and administer the grants.  Awards are made directly by the FAA to the airports.

Railroads:

Nationwide there will be $8 billion available for high speed rail corridors and intercity passenger rail service.  The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is responsible for directing the distribution of these funds. 

Three high speed rail corridors (Chicago to Detroit; Chicago to Cleveland; and Chicago to Cincinnati through Indianapolis) pass through Indiana.  Indiana is a member of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, which consists of Indiana plus eight other states (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin) who are working to develop a high speed passenger rail system in the Midwest. 

INDOT is pursuing stimulus funds for eligible rail projects, including an ARRA stimulus funding application submitted on August 24 for improvements to Norfolk Southern's Chicago Line between Porter, Indiana and the Illinois state line.  Click here to view the application. 

• State Projects: June 30, 2009 deadline for obligating $220 million of state projects; March 2, 2010 the remaining $220 million must be obligated for state projects.
• Local Projects: All local agencies must obligate the $198 million by March 2, 2010.
• All Projects: Must be completed by February 17, 2012.