Infrastructure News Summary
For June 19, 2008

COUNCIL SKEPTICAL ABOUT MAPLECREST
4 of 7 members lean against voting for $50 million project.
The News-Sentinel
Kevin Leininger
6/18/08

With less than a week to go before the anticipated vote, it appears a sales job will be needed to persuade Allen County Council to support one of the largest and most-debated road projects in local history. Although three Council members are solidly in favor of extending Maplecrest Road from Lake Avenue 1.5 miles south to Adams Center Road, the four remaining members said Tuesday they are leaning against the $50 million project, and will need to be persuaded with realistic financial data if they are to support it. http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/NEWS/806180315

MAJOR REPAIRS NEEDED TO FIX STATE ROADS 57, 157
Greene County Daily World
Nick Schneider
6/18/08

Commuters and people who live along State Road 57 South can expect to feel the aftermath of the Flood of 2008 for some time. It may be August before traffic resumes. The Indiana Department of Transportation is still evaluating the extent of damages done when a culvert bridge washed out over Simpson Ditch, just north of Prairie Chapel Church on June 5. INDOT expects to have the evaluation complete and contractors contacted by the end of June. However, INDOT spokesperson Cher Goodwin says repairs to the roadway will not be done and the road open to traffic until sometime in August. While the roadway is closed the INDOT recommended detour is State Road 358 to U.S. 231 to Bloomfield. The INDOT spokesperson said she doesn't expect the road closure on State Road 57S to affect the ongoing $4.1 million Major Moves paving project on State Road 57 between the junction of State Road 54 and the town of Newberry. The S.R. 57 project, being done by O'Mara Construction of North Vernon, encompasses the area between the town of Newberry and the State Road 54/U.S. Route 231 intersection (Lighthouse Junction). http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1438085.html

PLANS SET FOR NEW U.S. 24 BRIDGE
Journal & Courier
6/18/08

Plans are moving forward for construction of a new U.S. 24 bridge over the Tippecanoe River in Monticello. The Indiana Department of Transportation received a recommendation for new alignment of the bridge this month and is beginning the project design process. Construction is set to begin in 2013. The new alignment planned for the U.S. 24 bridge will reduce the sharp angle of the current bridge and will run the bridge slightly north of the current structure. http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080619/NEWS/806190320

INDOT FINISHES WITH ROAD PROJECT ON U.S. 40
Palladium-Item
6/18/08

CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind. -- The Indiana Department of Transportation has opened all traffic lanes here, with highway improvements in town nearly complete. Some continuing tasks along U.S. 40 might require occasional flagging of traffic, INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the final completion of the $7.8 million project that stretched from Dublin through Cambridge City will take place the first week of July, Maginity said. http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/NEWS01/806180310/1008

IND. 15 RESURFACING, WIDENING CONTINUES
Times-Union
6/18/08

Indiana Department of Transportation announced work on the Ind. 15 project will shift into another phase of construction Friday. The phase will be more focused on the northwest and northeast corners of the Detroit Street intersection, according to an INDOT press release. Work will continue at the Buffalo Street intersection, but will be focused primarily behind the new curbs. Weather permitting, the construction phase is scheduled to last through July 6. The most notable change is that no designated southbound left-turn lane will be in place for Detroit Street north of Winona Avenue. http://www.timesuniononline.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=224&ArticleID=33791&TM=68688.92

LAFAYETTE BRIDGE REPAIR SCHEDULED
WLFI
6/18/08

Lafayette, Ind. (WLFI) - A Lafayette bridge four years overdue for replacement will soon be rebuilt. The Area Plan Commission voted to rebuild the eastbound bridge at US 52 over the Wabash River. The bridge is designed like the one that collapsed in Minnesota last August killing 13 and injuring more than 100. Originally, the bridge was scheduled for replacement in 2004. Construction is expected to begin in 2011 and will take about a year and a half to finish. http://www.wlfi.com/Global/story.asp?S=8522519&nav=menu591_3

COLLAPSED BRIDGE'S SUCCESSOR MAY BE DONE BY SEPT.
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Patrick Condon
6/18/08

Two halves of a sparkling new Interstate 35W freeway bridge stretch toward each other over the Mississippi River, separated by a gap of about 200 feet that shrinks with each day as workers toil around the clock. The old bridge collapsed last Aug. 1, killing 13 people and severing a critical link in the state's largest city. But for the companies replacing it, the goal is more than just restoring traffic flow - finishing ahead of schedule could mean up to $27 million in extra payouts. That carrot has the new bridge on track to open as early as September, three months before it must be finished under the builders' contract with the state. http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080618/APA/806180869&template=apart