Indiana's First Single-Call Community Crossings Round: $109.9 Million to 346 Local Governments, Smaller Checks, and a September 2027 Deadline That Starts Now
October 29, 2026 · 6 min read
Granted Research Team · Editorial policy
On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at the 43rd Annual Indiana MPO-IARC Conference in Kokomo, Gov. Mike Braun presented $109.9 million in Community Crossings Matching Grants (CCMG) to Indiana local governments. According to the state, the money will fund road and bridge work in 346 communities. "Good roads and bridges are essential to strong communities and a growing economy," Braun said.
Community Crossings is not new. INDOT Commissioner Lyndsay Quist says it has awarded more than $2 billion since 2016. What is new is the structure. This is the first round under the rules the legislature rewrote in 2025: one call per year, a hard $100 million annual program cap, a per-unit ceiling cut from $1.5 million to $1 million, and a lower local match for small communities.
The result is more recipients and smaller grants, and a next deadline that is 11 months away but has requirements due much sooner.
The round in numbers
| Item | FY2027 round |
|---|---|
| Total awarded | $109.9 million |
| Recipients | 346 local units (per state release) |
| Average award | About $318,000 |
| Application window | September 1–30, 2026 |
| Awards presented | October 28, 2026 |
| Per-unit ceiling | $1 million per state fiscal year (down from $1.5 million) |
| Statutory program cap | $100 million per state fiscal year |
| Match, small communities | 80/20 (cities and towns under 12,500; counties under 55,000) |
| Match, larger communities | 50/50 |
| Next call | September 2027 (INDOT plans a September call every year) |
Two things stand out.
The total is above the cap. The statute limits CCMG to $100 million per fiscal year, and this round is $109.9 million. INDOT says it has exceeded the cap in each of the past two fiscal years "because of cost favorability," meaning bids came in under estimates and the leftover money was re-awarded. Applicants should not count on that. In normal years the ceiling holds.
The checks are smaller. In December 2025, the state awarded $100 million to 191 cities, towns and counties, an average of about $524,000. This round spreads slightly more money across 346 recipients, at about $318,000 each. The lower per-unit ceiling explains part of the drop. The other part is a single annual call: every community that wanted money this year had to compete in September.
Northern Indiana's awards show the pattern. Middlebury received $770,840, Shipshewana $736,000 and Pierceton $479,284.80. Most county awards fell between $300,000 and $450,000, and many small towns received $100,000 to $250,000. By comparison, Fulton County and Cass County each received $1,000,000 in December 2025. Fulton County's FY2027 award was $386,377.63.
How the program shrank
Under the old system, INDOT ran two calls a year, and in strong years the totals were large: $140 million in November 2024 and more than $200 million in spring 2025. The FY2026 calls together brought in just over $165 million, according to the state's June 2026 announcement.
The 2025 legislative changes reduced that in three ways:
- One call per year. A community that missed the deadline or was not funded now waits 12 months, not six.
- A $100 million cap, set in law, funded from the state's local road and bridge matching grant fund under House Enrolled Act 1002 (2017).
- A $1 million per-unit ceiling, down from $1.5 million.
The legislature also made the program cheaper for small places. Cities and towns under 12,500 people and counties under 55,000 now pay a 20% local share, down from 25%. Larger jurisdictions still pay half. (Some local outlets reported the city threshold as 10,000. INDOT's FY2027 FAQ says 12,500.)
The program also changed its calendar. Earlier announcements said the single annual call would open each July. The FY2027 call actually ran September 1–30, 2026, and INDOT now says it will hold the call every September.
What is eligible, and what is not
CCMG is a preservation program. Under INDOT's FY2027 guidance:
Eligible:
- Road and bridge preservation listed in the local government's Asset Management Plan (AMP)
- Mill-and-overlay of at least 1½ inches, which must include ADA ramp work
- ADA sidewalk rehabilitation, but only within a qualifying mill-and-overlay project
- Drainage and pipe replacement tied to a specific road project
- Converting gravel roads to hard surface (separate application)
- Low-water crossings and replacement of undersized, damaged or blocked structures
- Force account materials for chip seal and crack seal, with a total cost limit of $375,000 (up from $250,000)
Not eligible:
- Preliminary engineering, right-of-way, utility relocation, construction inspection
- New roads, alleys, parking lots, trails and bike paths
- Standalone sidewalks
- Water, sewer or sewer-separation work
- Streetscape and enhancement items (lights, pavers, trees, gateway features)
- Any project that also uses federal funding
- Retroactive projects, meaning anything already bid, under construction or covered by an annual bid
The rule against federal funds matters most for communities that combine sources. A segment funded through an MPO's federal allocation cannot also carry CCMG money.
Compliance requirements
Most rejected CCMG applications fail on paperwork, not merit. The FY2027 FAQ lists what makes a community ineligible before scoring begins:
- AMP approval letter from Purdue's LTAP. AMPs must be submitted by December 1 each year to stay eligible for the next call. For the September 2027 call, that deadline is December 1, 2026, about a month away.
- Title VI Implementation Plan, due to INDOT by October 1 each year for the next fiscal year, plus an ADA Transition Plan updated annually and fully redone every three years. Out-of-compliance communities receive no CCMG money until they fix it.
- Old projects closed out. Any unit with a project awarded before the 2024-2 call had to have all of them officially closed, with a closeout letter from INDOT, by August 31, 2026. Submitting documents does not count as closeout.
- Itemized cost estimates per segment. Lump-sum estimates and contingency lines make a segment ineligible.
- A signed (not typed) financial commitment letter and an ordinance naming signatory authority (except mayor-led cities).
After an award, the timeline is short. Communities must have a contractor under contract within three months of the award letter, down from four. Money not under contract in time is reallocated to another community. That reallocation is part of why totals can exceed the $100 million cap. If this round's award letters went out around the October 28 ceremony, contracts would be due around late January 2027.
Strategy for the September 2027 call
1. Submit or update your AMP by December 1, 2026. This is the most important deadline in the cycle, and it is ten months before the application window. A road not in your AMP and certified road inventory cannot be funded.
2. Pick projects for the $1 million ceiling. Under the old $1.5 million ceiling, large counties could put one major corridor in a single application. Now they need to choose. Each application covers one work type and up to 25 segments. Applying for several work types gives you more flexibility, but every application still counts against the $1 million per-unit annual limit.
3. Small communities: use the 80/20 match. A town under 12,500 can now put up $200,000 to get $800,000. Before 2025 it needed $250,000. If your town has deferred paving because it could not afford the match, recalculate.
4. Get shovel-ready before you apply. The three-month contracting window means design, specs and bid documents should be ready in September. Communities that wait for the award to start design risk losing the money.
5. Use partnerships across jurisdictions. A city and county can each apply for their own segments of a shared corridor, with an inter-local agreement attached. That puts two $1 million ceilings behind one project.
6. Keep federal and state money separate. If a corridor is also on your MPO's federal list, pick one funding source.
7. Watch for reallocated money. Awardees who miss the three-month contracting deadline give up their funds, and INDOT re-awards them in the same fiscal year. Communities with complete, unfunded applications have the best chance at that money. Ask your District Local Program Director how reallocation works in your district.
The bottom line
Community Crossings is still the most dependable source of state road money for small Indiana governments. A town of 3,000 can still get a six-figure paving grant with a 20% match and no federal paperwork. But the program now pays out about $100 million a year instead of up to $200 million, the checks are smaller, and with one call a year a missed deadline costs a full construction season.
The next deadline that matters is the December 1, 2026 Asset Management Plan submission, not September 2027.
For transportation, infrastructure and municipal funding beyond Community Crossings, including federal formula programs, state revolving funds and Indiana-specific grants, search Granted's database or ask our AI assistant to match your projects to current opportunities.