Porter County will spend $15.5 million in grant funding to improve or reconstruct 17 bridges through 2025, officials announced Tuesday.

Of the bridges being repaired, 11 are a part of the top 15 bridges in Porter County that need replacement, according to a county news release.

“Securing $15.5 million in grant funding to improve our bridges is historic,” said Commissioner Jeff Good in the release. “Due to the efforts of (Development and Storm Water Director) Bob (Thompson) and his team, we are able to dramatically improve our bridge infrastructure.”

The county is responsible for maintaining 132 bridges, and “many of them are along major thoroughfares in our cities and towns,” said Commissioner Jim Biggs in the release.

In 2017, a highway engineering team was established in the department of development and stormwater, and a professional engineer and project manager were hired to develop and implement a new bridge asset management strategy, according to the release.

Officials reviewed the Federal Highway Administration bridge rating study, and found that the county bridge infrastructure was deficient, according to the release. The Board of Commissioners started to allocate more money to its bridge fund without raising taxes, according to the release.

In 2018, the county spent $625,000 on preventive maintenance on 32 county bridges, according to the release. The following year, in 2019, the county used $2.75 million of a $30 million capital upgrade plan to reconstruct three bridges and another $800,000 to rehabilitate two major bridges, according to the release.

“We’ve approached the bridge problem the same way we have approached other major issues,” said Commissioner Laura Blaney in the release. “We identified a need, hired top-notch professionals to address the need, developed a plan and found the funding.”