At its Tuesday meeting, the Gary Common Council approved funds transfers to infrastructure projects in the city, including updates to streets and streetlights.
The council unanimously approved changes in a 9-0 vote Tuesday. Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, attended the meeting virtually.
William Allen, Gary city engineer, gave an overview of the changes.
“This ordinance established funds for infrastructure-related projects, including the resurfacing of our Community Crossing grant, which is an opportunity to replace concrete sidewalks throughout the city,” Allen said. “This ordinance also includes improvements for traffic signals.”
Gary’s Community Crossings fund will receive about $2 million, according to city documents. The Community Crossings Matching Grant Program is an Indiana Department of Transportation program that invests in local roads and bridges, according to its website, and the money will be used to fix city roads.
The city also allocated wheel tax funds, which had not been used for several years, former City Controller Celita Green said at a Ways and Means committee meeting. The city will use wheel tax funds to repair sidewalks.
Wheel taxes are local fees that can be added to vehicle registration and are used to fund infrastructure projects, according to the Indiana Department of Motor Vehicles.
In total, Gary leadership expects to have about $5.3 million in wheel tax funds, which Green said they did not allocate completely, in case of emergencies.
Allen told council members that updates will be focused on high-use roads included in a previous city feasibility study.
The city of Gary also received $2 million from NIPSCO for streetlight replacement, which the city plans to use for traffic light repair.
In March, Gary announced that the city will undergo an LED streetlighting transition, according to Post-Tribune archives. Traffic signal work began in the first quarter of 2026 and will continue through the spring, focusing on high traffic intersections before moving to the remainder of the city.
At the end of 2024, the Gary Common Council approved the use of $3.45 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to fund the “Relight the City” initiative, managed by the Gary Public Works department, according to Post-Tribune archives.
The initiative replaced about 2,000 Gary streetlights with LED fixtures, which city officials said are more efficient, brighter than previous fixtures and should last 25 years. Streetlight replacement started on Jan. 6, 2025.
Traffic signals on state roads maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation will not be updated through the project, including on Broadway and 4th and 5th avenues.
Councilman Myles Tolliver, D-at large, said during Tuesday’s meeting that he’d like for the city to keep residents informed as they make updates.
“Transparency is key,” Tolliver said. “I think we should let our constituents know how the process of the roads being paved and what’s happening (is important) so they can ask those questions, and we can let them know what’s going on, the longevity and what happens when (storms) happen and how it deteriorates over time.”
