The Starke County Commissioners approved moving forward with an application for funding through the Community Crossings Matching Grant program during their Monday meeting.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rachel Kinney said the county would like to use the Fiscal Year 2027 grant to make improvements to County Road 210. She described the proposed project as approximately 5.5 miles of hot mix roadway, and said the road is deteriorating.
Kinney estimated the project would cost around $1.3 million, though she emphasized that is only an estimate.
The commissioners voted on and approved moving forward with the application process for the grant. Officials stated that the project is not yet finalized and the approval is only the beginning of this process.
Kinney also updated commissioners on the county’s road salt supply for this winter. She said the county was not included in the state’s bidding process this year, after a different state department took over the process. Kinney said she received email confirmation acknowledging that the county was not included in correspondence regarding the bids.
Kinney said the county normally pays approximately $80 per ton for road salt, but will now pay approximately $130 per ton. She said the Highway Department checked with four different companies and found prices all around $130 per ton.
Kinney said a supplier has been found and the county will have road salt available this winter despite the increased cost.
