Infrastructure News Summary
For April 10, 2008

PLAN WILL KEEP CANAL ROAD PROJECT FOUR LANES
ENGINEER: REDUCING LANES WOULD CREATE 'BOTTLENECK EFFECT'
The Tribune-Star
Howard Greninger
4/9/08

TERRE HAUTE - Reducing a four-lane section to two lanes as part of Vigo County's Canal Road project would create traffic congestion and would not meet federal design standards on the second phase of the project, a project engineer said Wednesday. "Reducing lanes would create a bottleneck effect on the road corridor," Jeff Whitaker, project engineer for Bernardin Lockmueller & Associates, told the Vigo County board of commissioners on Wednesday. Commissioners had asked the Bernardin firm of Evansville, which helped design the Canal Road project, to review design and construction costs for the project's second phase, which connects to the city's 13th Street project near Interstate 70. Whitaker addressed the idea of changing to a two-lane road from a four-lane. Traffic is expected to be 14,000 vehicles per day at Indiana 641 and 22,600 per day at Davis Avenue when the project is finished, Whitaker said. http://www.tribstar.com/news/local_story_100223632.html

MAJOR MOVES PROJECT BEGINS NEXT MONTH
Tri-State Media
Nathan Blackford
4/9/08

Construction on State Road 66 around Newburgh will begin sometime around Memorial Day. The second phase of the road-widening project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2009. On April 4, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announced that Blankenburger Brothers of Cynthiana had submitted the winning bid of $19.2 million for the 3.1-mile project. That is more than $2 million more than INDOT's original estimate. http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2008/04/09/warricknews/news/04construction.txt

S.R. 28 INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS PLANNED AT GETRAG PLANT SITE
Noblesville Daily Times
4/9/08

TIPTON, Ind. - The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) yesterday awarded a contract for intersection improvements and a new traffic signal at Getrag transmission plant entrances onto State Road 28, just east of U.S. 31. E&B Paving of Anderson submitted the lowest bid among four Indiana contractors, offering to complete the work for $1 million. About a half mile of S.R. 28 will be shifted to narrow lanes on one side of the road during construction, which is scheduled to be completed this fall. E&B Paving was also awarded a $4.3 million contract last month to resurface 11 miles of U.S. 31 from 236th Street to the railroad tracks just north of S.R. 28. http://www.county29.net/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12569&Itemid=99999999

LLOYD EXP. GOES ORANGE STARTING MONDAY
14WFIE-TV
Drew Speier
4/9/08

One of the Tri-State's busiest roadways is getting a facelift and that means traffic delays. Patching work starts Monday on the Lloyd Expressway and there will be lane closures. INDOT will begin concrete patching in both directions of the Lloyd Expressway beginning just west of Highway 41 all the way to Interstate 164 and back. http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=8140276&nav=3w6o

REACTION MOSTLY POSITIVE FOR STREET PROJECT IN LA PORTE
The News-Dispatch
Timothy O'Connor
4/9/08

LA PORTE - Nancy Shannon was the only resident to share concerns about the Boston Street reconstruction during Monday night's La Porte City Council meeting. Members of American Structurepoint Inc. gave a presentation during the meeting detailing plans for reconstruction of Boston Street that will affect Shannon's business. The project is designed to alleviate truck traffic to east-side industries by widening the street and adding a turning lane. It also will add sidewalks in several areas and alter intersections to allow for wider turns. The project begins about 230 feet south of Lincolnway and ends about 910 feet south of Koomler Drive.
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=11965&TM=38952.09

WISH LIST FOR ROADS TO BE CUT
Post-Tribune
Erik Potter
4/9/08

The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission is set to whittle down a $69 million wish list of area road projects competing for only $30 million of federal funding. NIRPC is the regional agency that prioritizes projects for federal funding, listing the favored projects on the five-year Transportation Improvement Program. The list would then go through a three-month review process, including an evaluation of environmental impacts and a 30-day public comment period. The NIRPC board could then officially adopt the list in late August and submit it for approval to state and federal transportation agencies. Nearly $19.6 million of the requested projects are for additional funding for previously-approved projects, including an additional $6.3 million for 169th Street reconstruction in Hammond, from Harrison to Southeastern. http://www.post-trib.com/news/885071,nirpc.article