Infrastructure News Summary
For July 22, 2008

First Avenue ramp to close this week
Evansville Courier & Press
7/21/08

Major construction work on the new Lloyd Expressway-Fulton Avenue interchange will begin this week as crews close the eastbound ramp to First Avenue. The ramp, which will be replaced as part of the new construction, is scheduled to shut down Wednesday. The work is part of a $32.4 million project to build an interchange at the site like the one at Green River Road and the Lloyd. The interchange project is expected to last through October 2010. http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jul/21/first-avenue-ramp-close-week/

Road work hampers northbound Ind. 37 in Morgan County
Bloomington Herald Times
7/21/08

In Morgan County, lane restrictions on northbound Ind. 37 are scheduled to begin today, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. The northbound lane of Ind. 37 from the bridge over Jordan Creek to Ind. 44 will be restricted to one lane until Sept. 9, weather permitting. The bridge is just south of Martinsville. Workers will be patching concrete of this 6-mile stretch of roadway, and motorists will be assisted through the workzone by message boards, construction signs and barrels.
For more information, please call TRIAD at 1-800-288-7423.

Bypassing THE BYPASS
After 20 years, Interstate 469 remains a lightly traveled loop
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Benjamin Lanka

Rush hour on Interstate 69 can often be a mess. Thousands of vehicles pour onto the north-south expressway to get to and from work, slowing speeds and making passing difficult. Yet the commute on Fort Wayne's other interstate - I-469, just a few miles east - is a different story. Lanes are typically free of congestion, and save for the occasional 18-wheeler, driving at or above the 70 mph limit is fairly simple throughout the day. Twenty years after the first segment opened - the entire highway was completed in 1995 - Interstate 469's traffic counts lag far behind those of I-69 and many other major area thoroughfares. Fort Wayne drivers, it appears, choose to bypass the bypass, even though it is the most expensive public works project in Allen County's history, with a price tag of $207 million. http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080720/LOCAL/807200426/-1/LOCAL08

Construction project under review
WTHI-TV
7/17/08

SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTHI) - A Sullivan business was flooded twice in the past month, and road construction may be the cause. Jay's Autoworld flooded last Saturday, for the second time, leaving behind nearly $ 20,000 in damages. Owner Tim Garrett said road construction may have caused his business to flood. Crews have been working on the Section Street project, where Jay's Autoworld is located. Section Street Project Manager Mark Berry said repaving the street did raise the street level. He said it's possible that the new design can't handle the heavy rains. http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8695560&nav=menu593_2

Maplecrest OK means more road to widen
County Council's action commits city for $3M in road work.
The News-Sentinel
Kevin-Leininger
7/18/08

When Allen County Council last month approved the extension of Maplecrest Road south to Indiana 930, it did more than commit the county to a $55 million construction project. In a sense, it also committed city officials to move ahead with $3 million in road improvements they say will be needed to handle the additional traffic the extension will create. "To receive that traffic, we're probably going to have to four-lane Maplecrest from Lake Avenue to State Boulevard," said city engineer Dave Ross, who said the improvements could be complete by 2011 - about the time the county's work should be completed. Currently, about 6,900 vehicles use Maplecrest Road near East State Boulevard every day. But Maplecrest between State and Lake is now a two-lane road that at times struggles to handle the traffic it already has. Once the extension is complete and Maplecrest becomes a major north-south corridor, Ross knows congestion will get even worse unless the city matches the county's project with improvements of its own. http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080718/NEWS/807180327

Ground broken near Jeffersonville Town Center site
The News and Tribune
David Mann
7/18/08

Ground was ceremoniously broken Thursday on roadway improvements planned near the Jeffersonville Town Center site along Veterans Parkway. The road improvement project will cost about $1.2 million and is being done in three phases. The first phase includes the construction of two turning lanes and the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Veterans Parkway and Town Center Boulevard. Phase two will be the construction of an approach and side road and phase three includes the installation of street lights along Veterans Parkway from U.S. 31 to Woehrle Road. Project funding is via Tax Increment Finance, or TIF, revenues. Ground broken near Jeffersonville Town Center site. http://www.newsandtribune.com/business/local_story_200160514.html

SR. 59 to be resurfaced south of Linton
Greene County Daily World
7/18/08

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announces that State Road 59 (SR 59) south of Linton will be resurfaced this summer. The $1.1 million contract was awarded to Poindexter Excavating of Indianapolis, Indiana during the May 2008 letting. It is anticipated construction will begin Monday, July 28 and last through October 2008. http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1445935.html

Six Span region set for a facelift
A new facility and habitat restoration are in the works.
South Bend Tribune
Louie Stout
7/20/08

The Six Span Bridge region of the St. Joseph River is going to get quite a facelift with a new ramp facility and some much needed habitat. The access project is being handled by Elkhart County as part of the County Road 17 bridge project that is scheduled to begin in early fall. The new 6 Span site will include a portion of the existing access land as well as some being added east of there. The road and bridge expansion is expected to gobble up some of the western half of the present public access. http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080720/Sports/807200404/-1/SPORTS

Motorists doing fine on new roundabout
The Indianapolis Star
7/20/08

Plainfield " Traffic has been going around and around Plainfield's first large roundabout without much trouble in the two weeks since it opened. "I'd say the roundabout at Hadley and South Center is working very well, with no significant operational problems," Plainfield Transportation Director Don McGillem told the Town Council last week. The roundabout was a $750,000 portion of a $3.5 million project to improve the two heavily traveled streets. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807200367

Carmel Schools give city land for road expansion
The Indianapolis Star
Emily Belz
7/22/08

Carmel Clay School Board members gave the city right of way to expand a road that runs alongside the former College Wood Elementary School at 400 S. Guilford Road. The school now houses the Hamilton Boone Madison Special Services Cooperative, a special education center for regional school districts. The board voted 3-1 Monday night to sell the property to the city for $1. City engineer Mike McBride promised school officials that barriers would be constructed to protect children from the road. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807220412