The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission has less money available for road projects than normal after a U.S. Census Bureau ruling.
The Census Bureau carved out the Winfield and Lakes of the Four Seasons areas from the rest of the region, funneling federal funding for road projects there to the Indiana Department of Transportation rather than NIRPC.
“We had less money this year than we do normally,” at $108 million, said Charles Bradsky, NIRPC’s transportation program manager. That’s about $2.5 million less than before.
Inflation also was a factor in funding road projects this year, with higher prices for materials. Supply chain issues remain, too. “Many construction programs still have long lead times, especially those that deal with lighting and wiring,” Bradsky said.
Not counting public transit, NIRPC received five applications for federal funding for road projects from Hammond, four from NIRPC itself, three from Gary and Cedar Lake, two each from Lake and LaPorte counties, and one each from Burns Harbor, Crown Point, Merrillville, Portage, Schererville and Valparaiso.
In March, the Transportation Committee will review them and make a recommended list of projects to include in the 2026 transportation improvement plan.
That list of priorities will determine which projects will receive federal funding.
NIRPC does a five-year plan even though the federal government requires only a four-year plan. The Indiana Department of Transportation encourages a five-year plan, recognizing projects can take longer than four years to bring to fruition.
As the agency coordinates major road projects throughout the region, the safety goals are an important consideration.
The number of fatal traffic accidents is increasing in Indiana, but NIRPC has a goal to reduce them in the region.
“Unfortunately, in Indiana, the five-year average for fatalities is going up,” NIRPC Director of Transportation Tom Vander Woude said. Federal rules require the agency to set targets lower than existing goals rather than adjusting them to reflect an increasing total statewide.
Spacial Analyst Grace Benninger said total crashes in the third quarter were down about 180 over 2023. Of those 5,739 crashes between July and September, 18 were fatal and 1,054 involved injuries.
The new goals adopted Thursday by NIRPC decrease the targeted number of fatalities at 812 in 2025, from 926 in 2024. The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled is now set for 1.009, a slight change from 1.1 in 2024.
The number of series injuries is set for 3,032 in 2025, down from 3,281 in 2024. The rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled is now 3.402 per 100 million miles traveled compared to 4.05 in 2024.
The number of series injuries and fatalities for pedestrians and bicyclists is set for 363 in 2025, from 402 this year.
“Clearly, we’re trying to eliminate all injuries, all fatalities on the roads,” Porter County Surveyor Kevin Breitzke said. Realistically, that means trying to eliminate unnecessary fatalities and injuries.
INDOT’s “Phone down, buckle up” campaign is an example of efforts to reduce the number of unnecessary fatalities and injuries, NIRPC Executive Director Ty Warner said.
Other metrics in NIRPC’s transportation improvement plan look at paving conditions and reducing air pollution
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
