PROJECT UPDATE AS OF 10/25/21

On October 20th, Rieth-Riley paved the final street of the 2021 Subdivision Paving Projects! Plus, due to tight project controls by the County, THREE additional subdivisions were added to the original list of nineteen subdivisions. Scroll down for a description of the Subdivision Paving Projects and information about how subdivisions were selected and the funding used to complete the projects.

THE FINAL PROJECT LIST:

Subdivision Paving Projects Plan Summary

Over the past few years, Porter County Government has increased its focus on improvement and preservation of the over 800 miles of roads in unincorporated areas of the County. Unincorporated means areas that are outside the municipal boundaries of our cities and towns. This has included:

• Chip & Seal on 130 miles of side roads. Chip & Seal is a common pavement maintenance practice that extends pavement life and provides a good driving surface. Chip & seal applications were done in-house by the Porter County Highway Department, providing a 55% cost savings when compared to using outside contractors.
• In 2020 and 2021, nearly $3.9 million in reconstruction and paving projects on high traffic major thoroughfares and arterial roads through the Indiana Community Crossing Matching Grant (CCMG) program. 50% of the cost was paid by the state and 50% by the County.
• All of these projects were funded WITHOUT imposing a wheel tax on residents of unincorporated Porter County or increasing the county’s property tax rate.

In late 2020, the County began to examine the approximately 202 miles of streets in the over 300 subdivisions in unincorporated areas. These subdivisions include small one-street developments up to mega-developments such as South Haven and Shorewood. Recognizing that many of these developments were over 30 years old, the County began to formulate a plan to expand its road & street improvement programs to include subdivisions.

The Porter County Highway and Engineering team conducted an assessment of the structural and ride conditions of the streets in each of the 300 subdivisions.  Based on the data acquired in the assessments, a priority rating was assigned to each subdivision. Using the priority rating, the County established a ranking system that determined the worst to best subdivisions based on overall street conditions. 

Upon examination of the highest priority subdivisions, it became clear that action needed to be taken.  Using a “worst first” approach, the 17.2 miles of streets in the 19 highest priority subdivisions were targeted for repaving. 

“This rating system will provide the roadmap for future repaving projects in our subdivisions,” said Board of Commissioners President Jeff Good. “The “worst first” priority rating system is a purely objective process based on data and evidence. This is how good government works.”

With a cost of approximately $175,000 per mile, the estimated price tag to complete the 19 subdivisions is $3 million. The Board of Commissioners and County Council worked together to identify possible funding sources for these projects. After reviewing several different options, the two bodies unanimously agreed to allocate $3 million in funding from the Porter County Government Non-Profit Charitable Foundation’s investment earnings. 

“Funding of the subdivision paving program is another example of the continuing collaboration between the County Council and Board of Commissioners to achieve common goals,” said County Council President Jeremy Rivas. “Projects like this normally could not take place without an increased cost to taxpayers, but with the sound fiscal investment policy of the Porter County Government Foundation’s Board, the County has been able to keep taxes low for all Porter County residents while investing in our infrastructure.”

A request for bids was announced, and the bids were received and opened at the July 13th Board of Commissioners meeting. Awarding of the contract will took place at their August 8th meeting.

The subdivisions ORIGINALLY included in this project, listed by “worst first” are:

2021 Subdivision Paving Project Photos

Warren Woods Subdivision #1

Warren Woods Subdivision #2

Heritage Valley Subdivision #1

Heritage Valley Subdivision #2

Glenwood Hills Subdivision #1

Glenwood Hills Subdivision #2