SUMMITVILLE —
It has been more than a decade, but after years of work, Summitville’s Main Street Project — once a lofty dream — is becoming a reality.
Dee Amos, one of the cofounders of the Summitville Main Street Organization, said it is a huge relief to see preparation work for the project to actually begin and know that it is coming to fruition.
“I’m so proud that our children are going to have something that they can look at and be really proud of,” she said. “Our residents won’t have to go through town and be embarrassed by our streets and everything being so bad.”
The $2.1 million project is being funded by federal funds from Indiana Department of Transportation’s Local Public Agency (LPA) funding and a match from the town of Summitville, said Brian Fuller, design engineer with Indianapolis’ Clark Dietz, who is in charge of the project.
The LPA project funds are provided by the Federal Highway Administration and administered by INDOT. They are specifically for county governments and towns with populations of less than 5,000. The community must match 20 percent of the funds. Amos said she and others with the organization have already secured $120,000 to go toward their match and are bonding the other $307,000 to meet their obligation of $427,000.
“This whole process has been very long and difficult,” Amos said of the project. “We have neglected our town for so long. It is embarrassing how poor it looks. After everything is completed, this is going to be a pretty nice place. A large thank you to all of the citizens who supported this project. I am honored I have been able to help them achieve and accomplish their goal. The citizens deserve this.”
The Main Street project includes improvements to streets, drainage, sidewalks, curbs, guttering, lighting, handicap accessible sidewalks and crosswalks on Main Street from Walnut to Indiana Avenue, Amos said. If more funds are available, the area of Main all the way to County Road 1500 will be resurfaced.
Summitville council member J.C. Hendrick said when the council gave the project the go ahead he was ecstatic.
“It is about to come to a head and I’m so proud,” Hendrick said. “And my hope is, once we get the Main Street project done, Summitville businesses and building owners will take it upon themselves to redo their buildings and help downtown even more.”
He’s hopeful that the project will lead to other improvements that will lead to business growth in the community.
“I grew up in Summitville,” he said. “When I was a kid this was a good-sized little town — we had three grocery stores and taverns and four filling stations. Now we are down to one convenience store, a bank, a tavern, the post office and a barber shop. I’d like to see us get some more businesses in town.”
Fuller said preparation work for the project — things like getting the water and gas lines moved along with light poles — will help speed things up when contractors can begin their work in November, after the contractor is selected in mid-October.
“This is a project that I’m really excited to see get built for the citizens of Summitville who have worked so hard,” he said. “I think it will help their downtown and give them something to be proud of. Everyone pays their federal taxes and sees that money go away to Washington. It is nice to see a little come back to your local community to help out.”
The expected completion date is July 2012, Fuller said.
Contact Abbey Doyle, 640-4805, abbey.doyle@heraldbulletin.com.
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Related Photos
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Dee Amos and J.C. Hendrick have been working on Summitville's Main Street Project. After more than a decade of planning and fund raising bidding on the project is set for this fall. Don Knight
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Summitville Main Street project becomes a reality
Work includes improvements to street, sidewalks, drainage
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