Infrastructure News Summary
For November 09, 2007
INDYGO TO SCRAP DOWNTOWN BLUE LINE, EXPAND ELSEWHERE
Indianapolis Star
Katie Merlie
11-09-07
IndyGo will unveil new services for bus riders in Indianapolis on Tuesday as
part of a plan that also eliminates a popular route through Downtown. Next year,
IndyGo is expected to receive an additional $1.6 million from the state Public
Mass Transit Fund. Officials say the money will be used to add about 20,000
hours of bus service. "We're getting this money, and we have so much that
we want to do," said Samantha Cross, director of marketing and customer
service for IndyGo. IndyGo will host a public meeting Tuesday at the Indiana
Historical Society, 450 W. Ohio St., to talk about the new enhancements,
including route extensions, increased service frequency, a new Eastside
Circulator route and an end to the Blue Line Downtown Circulator. Mike Terry,
IndyGo's vice president of business development, said the Blue Line service will
stop Jan. 1.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/LOCAL/311090003/1006
SUPER 70 ROAD WORK EXPECTED TO WRAP UP NEXT WEEK
Indianapolis Star
Kevin O'Neal
11-09-07
Eastside reconstruction of I-70 will be finished next week, according to
INDOT. Until that happens, motorists can expect another change in the traffic
pattern and continued enforcement of the slower speed limit. Drivers who have
gotten used to the current pattern of narrower lanes in the areas where pavement
has been replaced will see that pattern change today or Saturday, as eastbound
traffic is switched again so construction crews can finish work on other rebuilt
areas, according to a statement from the transportation department. Sometime in
the next few days, the ramps from eastbound I-70 to Rural Street and Emerson
Avenue will reopen. Other ramps from Downtown to Shadeland Avenue will remain
closed, however, until the work is finished, department officials say.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/LOCAL/311090005/1006
WORK TO RESTRICT TRAFFIC ON I-465, I-69 RAMP
Indianapolis Star
11-09-07
New interstate restrictions will be in place this weekend, INDOT announced
Thursday. Travelers on the
I-69 southbound ramp to I-465 westbound will encounter nighttime restrictions
and traffic shifts for pavement resurfacing and the removal of temporary
concrete barriers. That work started at 9 p.m. Thursday and will continue
through 6 a.m. Saturday. I-465 near the West 38th Street overpass will have one
lane closed for the Accelerate 465 work being done to the overpass from 7 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Saturday.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/LOCAL/711090508/1006/LOCAL
INSPECTOR DECLARES OLD BRIDGE 'A REAL GEM'
Bloomington Herald-Times
Associated Press
11-09-07
An iron truss bridge in O'Bannon Woods State Park that was closed to traffic
two decades ago is in good shape and suitable to be turned into a pedestrian
bridge for park visitors, a bridge preservation expert says. After inspecting
the skeletal span of Breeden's Bridge on Wednesday, James Barker declared that
its steel beams were in good shape despite some rusty spots. Barker was hired by
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana to study the feasibility of restoring
the bridge, which spans the Blue River in western Harrison County. The bridge
was stripped of its thick oak floor planking two decades ago, rendering it
impassable. But after Barker carefully scaled the steel structure, examining its
bolts and gusset plates, rivets and rods as the Blue River swirled 30 feet
below, he pronounced it "a real gem."
For more information, please contact Triad: 1-800-288-7423. A similar
article appeared in the
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel: http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/NEWS/711090323
VALPO TO SEEK $2M FROM RDA FOR BUSES
NWI Times
Phil Wieland
11-09-07
Valparaiso - The city continues to take baby steps it hopes will enable it to begin commuter bus service to Chicago's Loop in a year or so. Stuart Summers, executive director of the city's Redevelopment Commission, said at Thursday's commission meeting he and a couple of the members met last week with Dennis Rittenmeyer, chairman of the Regional Bus Authority, to get his support when the city asks the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority for $2 million to buy the buses. Summers said the city assured Rittenmeyer it will become part of the RBA when that group is up and running and managing all the region's bus systems. That cooperation is necessary for the city's funding request to be considered by the RDA, Summers said. The funding request will be presented to the RDA's committee of the whole next week and, if the committee supports it, could go before the full RDA board in December. The money will buy four buses, which will be used to provide morning and afternoon express service from downtown Valparaiso to the Loop. http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/11/09/news/porter_county/doc9959ba3129bdeec68625738e001431dc.txt
I-469, DUPONT RAMP RESTRICTIONS END
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
11-09-07
Restrictions placed on southbound ramps at the Dupont and I-469 exits have been lifted, INDOT announced Friday. Restrictions were first placed on northbound lanes early in the summer for ramp work. Upon completion of that work, southbound ramps were closed. Drivers who needed access to the Dupont Road/Indiana 1 (Exit 116) or I-469 (Exit 115) used a single southbound I-69 exit, which began north of Dupont Road. The setup was similar to the shared exit on the northbound side of I-69.The two-construction season project is adding one northbound and one southbound travel lane in the freeway median, increasing I-69 from two lanes to three lanes in each direction. http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/LOCAL/71109013/1002/LOCAL