Huntingburg to repair First Street with grant contingency funds

The Huntingburg Board of Public Works has approved using contingency funds from a state grant and seeking bids for repairs to First Street after the completion of the wastewater work.

The board voted unanimously during a special meeting to move forward with two separate approaches for different sections of First Street, using leftover funds from a SWIF grant provided by the Indiana Finance Authority. This portion of the wastewater project, designed to improve flow from homes and reduce backups during major rain events, was awarded $5 million. However, the project has been completed using nearly a million dollars less than the grant amount.

Eric Parsley, Senior Project Manager with Commonwealth Engineers, informed the board that, following discussions with the finance authority, the state had agreed to allow the city to utilize these remaining funds to repair the road beyond the scope of the trench cuts.

“The whole thought process all along has been can we do a little bit more work to improve the street beyond just patching what was cut open for the trench to put the pipe in,” said Eric Parsley, Senior Project Manager with Commonwealth Engineers, the project’s engineering firm.

The project addresses underlying issues discovered during the sewer installation that extend beyond the immediate trench areas. According to the engineering presentation, the road lacked adequate subbase material, and areas outside the trench also sustained damage due to poor subgrade conditions that existed before any sewer work began.

“One of the things that we’ve talked about in the past is that road, whenever they did open it up to put the pipe in, didn’t have very much subbase under it, which I think is pretty consistent with what you guys run into,” Parsley told the board.

The improvements will address two distinct sections of First Street. From Van Buren to Jackson, where the road currently has asphalt paving, the city will utilize existing contract pricing negotiated for 2025 materials to install an asphalt base where trenches were cut and then mill and overlay the entire road section.

The more complex work involves the section from Van Buren east to Cherry, which features concrete panels. Rather than simply patching the trenches, the city plans to replace entire concrete panels that were directly impacted by the sewer installation work.

“Obviously, or ideally, I guess what we would like to do is replace the entire panel where the trench was installed rather than just the trench itself,” Parsley explained to the board members.

The board approved two separate motions during the meeting. The first authorized the use of existing city contract pricing for the asphalt section between Van Buren and Jackson. The second approved advertising for bids on the concrete panel replacement work.

For the concrete section, if sufficient funds remain available, the city hopes to address not only panels directly impacted by trenching but also the panels to the north that have developed longitudinal cracking and settling over time. This section covers a stormdrain culvert that runs parallel to the street and will be included as an alternative in the bid package.

The board also appointed a three-member bid committee consisting of the mayor, superintendent, and treasurer to open bids for the concrete work. Bids are scheduled to open on Aug. 5, with the contract award expected at the next Board of Public Works meeting on Aug. 7.

Timeline constraints add urgency to the project. The grant requires all work to be substantially completed by October, with the final paid application due by November and money drawn down by December of this year.

Commonwealth Engineers has already contacted several contractors who expressed interest in the project and indicated they could potentially begin work in August if the bidding process proceeds on schedule.

The concrete work will involve specific construction methods designed to create a more durable road surface. For areas where trenches were cut, workers will remove the top 10 inches of existing stone material, leaving at least 2 inches of compacted stone, then pour 10 inches of concrete directly on top.

For panels outside the trench area that need replacement, crews will dig down a full 12 inches and install compacted stone before pouring concrete.

“Should be a better road than what we started with,” Mayor Neil Elkins said, noting that the asphalt section’s current Pavement Surface Evaluation Rating of 4.5 should improve to around 9 after completion.

The city plans to coordinate the First Street work with other scheduled paving projects. CalCars is expected to work on Clay Street in early August, and officials have indicated that they will contact the company to potentially coordinate timing if the First Street contract is awarded.

Councilman Glen Kissling was attending the meeting and asked about plans to repair the remaining portion of the road, the block between Jackson and U.S. 231. Mayor Elkins explained that there is utility work that has to be done under that section. He added that a business in that block has plans to modify its entrance, and the city is waiting on those plans to begin engineering for the repairs. It could potentially be done in 2026.

Exacerbating the street improvement projects in the area is the impact of a fire at a local asphalt plant on supplies. According to city officials, the plant has not been operating since the incident earlier this spring, putting a crunch on the availability of asphalt for paving projects.