Infrastructure News Summary
For November 06, 2007

TOLL ROAD PROJECT RAISES QUERY ON NOISE POLLUTION
Gary Post-Tribune
Charles M. Bartholomew
11-06-07

Construction of a new building at the Portage barrier on the Indiana Toll Road probably won't have much effect on the highway noise reaching residents near the expressway, the Portage Plan Commission learned Monday night. The planners voted 8-0 to approve the site plan for three new automatic toll collection lanes and a relocated office building to replace the one that will be removed to make room for the new lanes. Richard Turnak, city councilman for the property owners on both sides of the highway near the barrier, asked about the possibility of reducing the noise, especially from braking trucks, part of the project. "We tried to get it moved, but nobody else wanted it either," he said. "We did look at that," said Samuel Wolfe, infrastructure manager for petitioner ITR Concessions of Granger. Wolfe said construction of the new lanes for vehicles with electronic transponders will allow drivers to pass through the toll collection facility in three seconds, instead of thirty. He said the system is in place from the Illinois state line to Portage, and the project, which should be under way by the end of the year, will finish installation of the automatic toll collection system that is part of the agreement between the state and the Spanish-Australian consortium. http://www.post-trib.com/news/636630,ptgplan.article A similar article appeared in the NWI Times: http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/11/06/news/porter_county/docd02253beaaa633628625738b000f6f40.txt

LONGER-TERM BOND LIKELY NEEDED FOR CANAL ROAD PROJECT
Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Austin Arceo
11-05-07

Terre Haute - Vigo County officials likely will need to agree to a longer-term bond than some wanted in order to fund the Canal Road project, a county councilman said. Several County Council members met with county commissioners early Monday afternoon in the Vigo County Annex to discuss funding options for the project. County officials last week received a bid of $19.84 million for the first part of the project, the same amount that was received when the phase was initially put out to bid. The first phase connects near McDaniel Road, which includes constructing a 40-foot-tall bridge over CSX railroad tracks, and building a new Canal Road turning north to intersect Feree Road. The second phase would extend and widen Canal Road to I-70. The bid for the first phase came within 5 percent of INDOT's estimate, which means it's an acceptable bid, councilman Jim Hellmann said after the meeting. The entire project likely will be paid for by a bond, or a kind of loan, with the county's Economic Development Income Tax funds to help pay back the bond. http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_309223530.html

SHERMAN MINTON BRIDGE WORK SQUEEZING TRAFFIC ALL WEEK
News and Tribune
Eric Scott Campbell
11-06-07

A bridge-inspection contractor will be blocking various lanes of traffic on the Sherman Minton Bridge all week, INDOT spokesman Marvin Jenkins said Monday afternoon. The far right lane of Indiana-bound traffic was closed Monday morning while a cherry picker reached to the bridge's highest peak. The state hired URS Corp. to perform the annual inspection, Jenkins said. The Clark Memorial Bridge and John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge were inspected in September, said Andrea Clifford, a Kentucky transportation spokeswoman. http://www.news-tribune.net/local/local_story_310112157.html

U.S. 24 NEEDS INTERCHANGES
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel
11-04-07

Editorial. "Gov. Mitch Daniels and his associates boast about what a boon Major Moves is for Indiana. But when it comes to the fair distribution of road improvement dollars, Allen County is getting shortchanged. INDOT was able to find about $600 million for improved interchanges on Interstate 465 in Indianapolis and about $374 million to fast-track improvements to U.S. 31 in Hamilton County. But INDOT significantly slashed northeast Indiana's long-planned Fort-to-Port project because of cost concerns. …INDOT needs to build U.S. 24 correctly from the start. Building the road without interchanges is a waste of taxpayers' dollars and a danger to taxpayers' lives." http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071104/EDIT07/711040339/-1/EDIT