Infrastructure News Summary
For May 9, 2008

INDIANA 37 NORTH OF ELWOOD TO CLOSE FOR 90 DAYS
The Herald Bulletin
5/9/08

ELWOOD - The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will officially break ground for a 12.6-mile section of Indiana 37 between Indiana 28 and Indiana 26 in Madison and Grant counties. A small shoveling ceremony for the Major Moves project will be staged Monday, May 12 at the intersection of Indiana 37 and Indiana 28. Coincidentally, a 90-day closure for road and bridge work also begins on Monday. Brooks Construction crews will begin by replacing drainage structures and refurbishing the bridge over Big Duck Creek. Then, Indiana 37 between Indiana 28 and Indiana 27 will be milled and built up with three lifts of HMA asphalt. Beyond the 12-foot lanes, paved shoulders will widen to 8 feet. This $12.4 million project is part of the Major Moves highway program. When complete in 2015, nearly $12 billion in critical highway projects will have been built, according to INDOT. http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_130000536.html

SPECIAL REPORT: TOP 8 WORST ROADS
WISH-TV
5/8/08

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - If you want to spark a loud, long, animated conversation, just ask drivers which road is the worst in Central Indiana. 24-Hour News 8 did that dozens of times recently, with viewers from all corners of our area. They quickly listed streets and interstates that are worn, torn, too dangerous, too narrow, confusing, or even missing. We'll start with I-465 on the west side. Spots under construction now get a pass. We'll see results this year. But some "loopy" interchanges are years away from full overhauls drivers would like right now. Cloverleaf intersections, from the air anyway, look pretty appealing. They're orderly. They're symmetrical. But on the ground, the dangers of old-style design stand out. I-74/465 on the east side features a modern design but the west side 74 interchange will still loop around and around, until 2012. http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8271720&nav=menu35_2/Global/category.asp

ELKHART RESIDENTS LEERY OF ROAD PLAN TO REVAMP MINUTEMAN WAY
The Truth Newspaper
Tim Vandenack
5/9/08

DUNLAP -- The planned revamping of Minuteman Way south of Concord High School ought to streamline travel to and from the facility, easing congestion, county and school officials say. Plans call for rerouting Minuteman Way, curving the road to the east just south of the Concord High School football stadium into C.R. 13. As is, Minuteman Way runs straight south past the football field, ending at C.R. 24, but project plans call for vacating and removing that segment of the road. The $250,000 project has been in the works since at least last year, when the Elkhart County Council approved the funding and the upgrade to start in June after school lets out, should conclude over the summer. Elkhart County Transportation Manager Jeff Taylor said it should make travel along the stretch -- heavily traversed by buses and other school traffic -- safer. http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=449074

U.S. 31 PLAN COULD MOVE 25 WESTFIELD COMPANIES
The Indianapolis Star
Francesca Jarosz
5/9/08

Up to 25 Westfield businesses near the intersection of U.S. 31 and Ind. 32 could be forced to move when the state turns U.S. 31 into a limited-access highway. Representatives from the Indiana Department of Transportation and RW Armstrong, the engineering firm the state hired for the project, delivered that news Thursday in a meeting with leaders from Hamilton County, Carmel and Westfield. INDOT plans to spend about $487 million to eliminate traffic signals on U.S. 31 through Carmel and Westfield, turning the road into a limited-access highway by 2017. The project starts in 2011 at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Ind. 38. Options for the interchanges there include a traditional diamond and a diamond alternative with a single traffic signal. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/LOCAL0101/805090378/1268/ARCHIVE

OIL PRICES ECLIPSE $126 A BARREL BEFORE US DRIVING SEASON AS INVESTORS FLEE THE DOLLAR
Yahoo News
Pablo Gorondi
5/9/08

Oil prices surpassed a record $126 per barrel Friday on the eve of the U.S. driving season as a weakening dollar drove investors to snap up commodities. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose $2.51 to a new record of $126.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the afternoon in Europe. On Thursday, the contract rose to a record close of $123.69 a barrel. On Friday, The Wall Street Journal published a report that suggested closer ties between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and rebels attempting to overthrow Colombia's government, heightening chances that the U.S. could impose sanctions on one of its biggest oil suppliers as a state sponsor of terror. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080509/oil_prices.html?.v=19