The Brown County Commissioners signed a contract Oct. 5 with the Indiana Department of Transportation that would pay for maintenance and repairs the county has done on Valley Branch Road.

The work dates back to the road being designated as a detour March 1, 2015, during the closure of the bridge at state roads 135 South and 46 East.

From that point on, INDOT assumed responsibility for paying for temporary repairs and for the eventual repaving of the road, which is partially gravel in some places.

The contract the commissioners signed is only for the money the county is owed for repairs to date, Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner said. The county will have to seek additional money from INDOT for any more repairs made before the road is repaved.

Magner is still waiting to hear from INDOT on when and how the road will get repaved, he said. He anticipates INDOT will most likely have the county handle the project and reimburse expenses.

He said he would like to see the repaving question settled before winter hits. He said the county was able to continue paving roads into the end of November last year. However, he doesn’t know how quickly INDOT will reach a decision on the timing of the work, he said.