(AUBURN) - The DeKalb County Commissioners on Monday awarded more than $1.1 million in road repaving projects to Brooks Construction, using primarily Community Crossings Matching Grant funds from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Brooks Construction submitted the lowest bid at $1,113,742. Four other bids ranged from approximately $1.13 million to $1.67 million. County Highway Superintendent Ben Parker reviewed the bids after they were opened in January and recommended Brooks for the work.
The grant funding will support milling and repaving County Road 427 from the Waterloo town limits to the Auburn city limits, as well as repaving County Road 68 from C.R. 427 to C.R. 35.
Parker also briefed commissioners on winter road operations, noting that during January his department worked 24 days, logged more than 43,000 miles, and used over 11,500 gallons of diesel fuel.
Commissioners also received a quarterly update on the county's DeKalb Area Rural Transit (DART) program. Director Kimberly Teegarden reported that three recalled vans were repaired and returned to service in December and that DART ended 2025 with no major accidents.
DART recorded 14,770 passenger trips in 2025, down from previous years, largely due to the loss of some non-emergency medical transportation riders. Teegarden said new partnerships and restored vehicles helped stabilize ridership by late summer.