Prospects of federal money spurred cautious joy among Lake, Porter and LaPorte county officials Thursday after region planners put the initial stamp on more than $40 million worth of infrastructure projects.

The city of Valparaiso is the third largest recipient of communities on the proposed list, with $1.5 million earmarked to repave a half mile of Calumet Avenue, one mile of Joliet Road and one and a quarter mile of Roosevelt Street.

"This is a blessing for us," Valparaiso Public Works Director Bill Oeding said. "Those three major streets haven't been repaired in years."

The communities of Dyer, St. John and Schererville would snag $2.6 million in the proposed list.

"We will be able to work on major arterials that have deteriorated because of the bad soils underneath," Dyer Town Manager Joe Neeb said. "This money will double our road budget."

The town would receive $1 million to resurface two miles of Hart Street, the town's major north-south road, and $200,000 to paint new traffic divider stripes on Calumet Avenue between Main Street and 77th Avenue.

Another $1.7 million would be directed to the Lake County Highway Department, which maintains roads outside municipal boundaries.

That would include 1.5 miles of Cedar Lake-Crown Point Road, nearly three miles of Ridge Road and more than four miles of Morse Street from 149th south to the Lowell town limits.

Lake County Highway Department Superintendent Marcus Malczewski said that while he's glad regional planners have given them the green light, the Indiana Department of Transportation's approval and a 30-day public comment period still are pending.