Columbus paying to restore features removed by state

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) – A central Indiana city will be spending up to $70,000 to replace streetscape features removed or damaged by state contractors during a repaving project.

The repair work will be done at two intersections in downtown Columbus where Indiana 46 is being repaved through the city in a $3 million project that includes the addition of wheelchair curb ramps and improved traffic signals.

City redevelopment director Heather Pope tells The Republic that the goal is to return the brick pavers and other streetscape features to their original appearance when installed in the 1990s.

State highway department spokesman Harry Maginity says the agency can’t pay for the streetscape restoration because that is prohibited under terms of federal funding being used on the Indiana 46 project.