The head of the Tippecanoe County Highway Department is hopeful some of the budget surplus from last year will be put towards roads.
Opal Kuhl had asked the Council for nearly $3-million dollars of the uncommitted $7.5-million to replace two bridges and three large culverts, as well as work on ditches and sidewalks.
But she says members indicated they needed more time to decide what to do with that money.
In the meantime, they approved an additional $640,000 dollars in Economic Development Income Tax funds to get caught up on road projects.
Kuhl says that will allow her department to begin getting caught up on the backlog of work.
She says additional money from the General Fund this year would only serve as a band-aid.
Kuhl says ultimately the state needs to find a more reliable way than the gas tax to pay for road projects.