Infrastructure News Summary
For November 15, 2007

INDYGO CITES CASH AS LIMITING FACTOR
Indianapolis Star
Kevin O'Neal
11-14-07

IndyGo officials would like to offer local residents many more routes but are limited by a tight budget to what they describe as a "minimalist" service. "The frustrations you are having are part of a very much under-funded system," IndyGo President Gil Holmes said Tuesday at a public forum on the city bus system's changes for next year. IndyGo's budget for next year is slightly less than $50 million, and it would cost three times that to offer all the routes operators would like to include. One route to be discontinued at the end of the year is the downtown Blue Line circulator. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/LOCAL18/711140457/1195/LOCAL18

ALCOA ASKS COUNTY TO UPGRADE ROADS
Evansville Courier & Press
Lydia X. McCoy
11-15-07

Alcoa Warrick Operations has asked the Warrick County Commissioners for permission to upgrade sections of two county roads so the company can use them to haul coal combustion byproducts. Alcoa wants to reinforce Red Brush Road, between Youngblood Cemetery and Yankeetown roads, as well as two sections of Youngblood Cemetery Road, between Eble Road and Red Brush Road. Alcoa owns the land on both sides of Red Brush Road, which runs parallel to Indiana 66. http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/nov/15/alcoa-asks-countyto-upgrade-roads/

GETTING WORK DONE
Evansville Courier & Press
Jimmy Nesbitt
11-15-07

Several blocks of Main Street between King Boulevard and Fourth Street will remain closed through the end of December for brick repair work. The $78,600 project began Oct. 22. Construction crews are repairing and replacing concrete and bricks that were damaged from wear and tear. The city used Tax Increment Funds to pay for the project, said Audra Levy, spokeswoman for Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel. The brickwork is one of several changes planned for Main Street. http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/nov/15/15aoxbricks-main/

GOSHEN SOUTH PERIPHERAL ROAD TALKS RESUME
Elkhart Truth
Justin Leighty
11-15-07

Though plans for a south peripheral road haven't turned out to be as much of a "short-term" fix as originally hoped, it again is moving forward. "We've signed an agreement with the owners of the land on the link road from C.R. 27 to S.R. 15 and now it's going through the Redevelopment Commission to get the money to build that road. We need to have an outlet onto 15 from Waterford Commons," said Mayor Allan Kauffman. The commission gave its approval to purchase more than 32 acres for more than $1.7 million, and the purchase next will move to the Goshen City Council for approval. http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=429372

SO LONG, SUPER 70
Indianapolis Star
Meagan Ingerson
11-15-07

The yearlong Super 70 project will end in a race against the weather. Work on the $175 million project must end today if contractor Walsh Construction wants to avoid late fees, INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield said. For every day the project takes after today, Walsh has to pay the state $120,000. Had the project been finished Wednesday or earlier, the business would have received a $120,000 bonus for each day. "There's a lot of work to get done," Wingfield said. "It may not appear that way, since now things are cordoned off with orange barrels as opposed to the concrete jersey wall that people have become accustomed to, but … the contractor's going to be working aggressively right up to the very end." Mark Wilson, assistant project manager for Chicago-based Walsh Construction, referred all questions to INDOT. Wingfield said the project's completion depends on the weather.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/LOCAL/311150002/1006

PROCEEDING WITH CAUTION
Indianapolis Star
Francesca Jarosz
11-15-07

A Carmel City Council vote on an ordinance banning heavy truck traffic from Keystone Avenue will be delayed at least another month while council members ponder the idea. About 30 people, including residents along Keystone Avenue and representatives from local businesses, attended the council's Utilities, Transportation and Public Safety committee meeting this week to hear details about the plans. Some expressed concerns about the ordinance, which was tabled until the committee's next meeting, set for Dec. 10. The ordinance was presented with proposed amendments from the city's attorney and engineer. Under the amended ordinance, trucks with a gross weight rating of more than 19,501 pounds would be banned from the portion of the roadway from 96th Street to the intersection with U.S. 31. Certain vehicles, such as school buses and trucks making local pickups or deliveries, would be exempt. The ban will be lifted when construction on U.S. 31 begins in 2011. The committee will vote on the original ordinance, which restricts vehicles weighing more than 16,000 pounds and is less specific about exemptions for local deliveries. It can be amended by vote of the full council.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/LOCAL0101/711150366/1155/LOCAL010103

TOWN OFFERING DRIVER'S ED
Indianapolis Star
Rebecca Neal
11-15-07

The two-lane roundabout at Dan Jones Road and County Road 100 South replaces a traffic light that would back up traffic in all directions. Both lanes of the roundabout, which has been under construction since April, opened this week. Public Works Director Ryan Cannon said there have been no accidents, but people need to learn how roundabouts work. To help motorists negotiate the newest roundabout, the town has posted an instructional video on its Web site, www.avongov.org. Cannon said brochures and DVDs also are available. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/LOCAL0502/711150353/1020/LOCAL05

DEVELOPER-CONTRACTOR DISPUTE KEEPS 1050N CLOSED
Chesterton Tribune
Kevin Nevers
11-14-07

In his more than 20 years of service with the Town of Chesterton, Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg has never seen anything like it: a dispute between a developer and a contractor which is holding a major piece of public infrastructure hostage. At issue: the closure, for more than a month now, of C.R. 1050N between Dickinson Road and Kelle Drive in Coffee Creek Center, a road project currently in suspended animation as Chesterton Development Partners LLC (CDP)-a party in the 94-unit Village Green Townhomes project-refuses to settle a bill from its contractor, Rieth-Riley Construction Company. Rieth-Riley apparently agreed to do the road project for a lump-sum price, Schnadenberg told the Town Council at its meeting Tuesday night. But curb elevations were subsequently changed, Rieth-Riley submitted a revised bill, and CDP has declined to pay it. So C.R. 1050N remains closed. http://www.chestertontribune.com/Town%20of%20Chesterton/11146%20developer_contractor_dispute_kee.htm

INDIANAPOLIS I-70 RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT ALMOST COMPLETE
Indianapolis Star
Associated Press
11-15-07

The rebuilding of a six-mile stretch of I-70 on the east side of Indianapolis is nearly complete. INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield says all lanes should be reopened in the next day or two. But he warns that commuters should still consider the area a construction zone. INDOT says lane markers must still be placed in the westbound lanes. The $175 million project began in February. The project is the biggest single-season construction project INDOT has ever undertaken. It runs from the eastern leg of Interstate 465 to downtown Indianapolis. It's the first major reconstruction on the road since it was built nearly 40 years ago. http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/253395-4301-127.html