Infrastructure News Summary
For May 14, 2008

JOBS TOUTED IN MAPLECREST WORK
COMMISSIONERS BACK $54 MILLION EXTENSION AFTER SEEING STUDY
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Amanda Iacone
5/13/08

The Allen County commissioners Monday released a study they hope will convince the County Council there is ample economic development opportunity to justify the price tag for the Maplecrest Road extension project. Commissioner Bill Brown said the study results helped him decide the $54 million bridge project is worth pursuing. The commissioners will be at Thursday's County Council meeting to discuss the project with council members. The consultants involved in the $30,000 study will present their findings as well. They have suggested borrowing $25 million to pay for much of the project - which would extend Maplecrest Road from Lake Avenue to Adams Center Road at Indiana 930 in New Haven. The 1.5-mile, four-lane road includes three bridges and would eliminate several at-grade railroad crossings and reduce commuter miles. An existing tax collected to maintain the county's 30 longest bridges would be used to repay the debt without a tax increase. http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/LOCAL/805130316/1002/LOCAL

NOBLESVILLE: SIGNAL PLANNED FOR HERRIMAN AND GREENFIELD
Noblesville Daily Times
Rob Borders
5/13/08

Herriman Boulevard will become a major thoroughfare when a portion of Allisonville Road is closed for repair work on the bridge over Stony Creek. It will be treated like one, too, as the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 Monday to put a temporary signal at the intersection of Herriman Boulevard and Greenfield Avenue. Allisonville Road will be closed just south of Greenfield Avenue to just north of 146th Street soon after May 29, the last day of school for Noblesville Community Schools. Allisonville Road traffic will be detoured to 146th Street, Indiana 37 and Greenfield Avenue, with Herriman Boulevard being the main connector between the three roads. Construction of the bridge will take three to four months to complete and will close the road for 60 to 90 days, according to Matt Knight, Hamilton County's bridge program engineer. http://www.county29.net/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14011&Itemid=230

REPAVING RESTRICTS TRAFFIC ON U.S. 20
Post-Tribune
5/13/08

More restrictions are scheduled for the U.S. 20 resurface construction project that included the Interstate 94 interchange ramps in Porter County. The restrictions took effect Monday and will go through September 2008. Both directions of U.S. 20 will be restricted to one 12-foot lane in each direction on the current westbound lanes so construction can begin on the eastbound side. From May 14 through mid-July, the ramps between eastbound U.S. 20 and I-94 will be closed. Also, Verplank Road traffic will be permitted to make only right-hand turns onto U.S. 20. http://www.post-trib.com/news/946092,pbriefs.article
Also, http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=13375&TM=50.383

WESTFIELD: U.S. 31 PROJECT WILL LIKELY FORCE BUSINESSES TO MOVE
Noblesville Daily Times
Jonathan Babalola
5/13/08

Indiana Department of Transportation officials in charge of the massive Major Moves project which will engulf Westfield in the next couple of years said working with impacted businesses and residential areas is a chief priority. Steve Fleming of RW Armstrong, and Jennifer Dzwonar, a consultant with Borshoff, gave an update Monday on the 14-mile, $487 million U.S. 31 project which will begin in 2011 and extend through Westfield and Carmel. Fleming said many businesses along U.S. 31 - primarily between 146th and 151st streets and at Indiana 32 - will be greatly affected by the construction, and many may have to move. http://www.county29.net/cms2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14012&Itemid=230

BRIDGE PROJECT GETS STATE FUNDING
Brown County Democrat
5/14/08

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) recently awarded Brown County $1,305,000 in Local Public Agency (LPA) bridge funding. These funds will be used to replace Bridge #33, located southwest of the Town of Nashville on Green Valley Road and crosses the north fork of Salt Creek. County officials made their case for the federal matching funds before an award panel at the INDOT Seymour District offices on March 31st. The panel's decision was confirmed on Tuesday, April 29, by a selection committee in Indianapolis. These federal funds, which are administered by INDOT, may be used as reimbursement for the construction phase of each project. These funds may not exceed 80 percent of the costs. Brown County was one of 11 municipalities competing for roughly $4.1 million in LPA bridge funding. Brown County has agreed to pay for 20 percent of the total project costs. The proposed project will widen the approaches and the new bridge will be built to carry two lanes of traffic. http://www.browncountyindiana.com/main.asp?SectionID=42&SubSectionID=211&ArticleID=11237&TM=991.223

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON US 231 PROJECT
Inside Indiana Business
5/13/08

VINCENNES (May 13, 2008) - Governor Mitch Daniels, together with local and state officials, broke ground today on two additional segments of the US 231 Corridor in Spencer County. In all, the US 231 Corridor, which will improve access between Kentucky and Interstate 64, is a $146 million project. Contracts totaling $47.7 million have been awarded for this portion of corridor. "Because, and only because of the Major Moves transaction, our wait for a bigger, better US 231 is over. And because we have the dollars to build it now, it will cost millions less than was expected, and we'll invest those savings in more roads and more jobs," said Daniels. The original estimated cost of the corridor was nearly $163 million, with a projected completion date of 2014. But because the project has been accelerated by three years, the Indiana Department of Transportation has been able to reduce its cost. The US 231 corridor project will fulfill a long-standing commitment by the state, local government, regional planning commissions, and citizens to improve US 231 between the Ohio River and Interstate 64. Studies on improvements to US 231 were initiated years ago for safety and economic development reasons. http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=29349