by Brian Rosenthal
Pharos-Tribune staff writer
July 08, 2008 11:20 am
—
Work to make 600E to U.S. 24 safer should restart sometime next week, Highway Superintendent Steve Easley announced at a meeting of Cass County Commissioners on Monday.
Although a completion date is not yet known, he said, it will probably be sometime in October or November.
Construction had been suspended about six weeks due to a limestone issue, said Easley, who took over as superintendent last week. While designers looked for a way to build a drainage system around the limestone, work has been halted on the heavily traveled road.
With the re-design now approved, contractors are awaiting the OK from the state on a change order covering the additional costs, the superintendent said. Work will begin as soon as the approval is handed down.
Meanwhile, construction on the intersection of 600E and Logansport Road will start around Aug. 15, Easley said. The county is currently in “pre-construction mode” for that project, which officials hope will be finished at the same time as the general construction on the road.
Both projects are intended to address safety concerns.
Drivers turning onto Logansport Road from 600E have difficulty seeing eastbound traffic over the hill. The speed limit is 55 mph, but some drivers go faster, and at 60 or 65 mph, there is not much space between the top of the hill and the intersection.
In 2003 and 2004, there were nine crashes at that intersection, which has a crash rate of 1.67 crashes per million entering vehicles, the Pharos-Tribune reported last August. The Indiana Design Manual states that a crash rate exceeding 1.5 denotes a likely safety problem.
The road has been in an even less safe state while construction has been under way, Easley said. Throughout the work, the road has been open to the residents where the construction is taking place.
But non-resident drivers have also been using the “very risky” road, especially as construction was temporarily suspended, Easley said.
“The markings are ‘Road Closed,’ but I know from my own personal travels that we've got people cutting through there,” he said. “I've seen semis and I've even had a person pass me.”
Highway officials are urging drivers not to use the road until construction is complete.
Officials recognize the “extreme inconvenience” of having the road closed, Easley said.
“We're gonna be locally pushing to get it completed as quickly as we can, especially with the noise we’ve incurred,” he said. “We’re as anxious as the public is to get that road back open.”
Also at the county commissioners meeting, Easley introduced an ordinance mandating a speed limit change on 50E between 200N and 350N. The ordinance, prompted by a petition from several residents, lowers the speed limit to 45 mph for safety reasons.
The commissioners will consider the ordinance at their next meeting.
Easley also announced a funding request had been submitted to the Indiana Department of Transportation for the county's “next biggest project.” The request asks for $1.7 million for construction on 300S.
Feedback on the request is expected by July 29.
Brian Rosenthal can be reached at (574) 732-5148, or via e-mail at Brian.Rosenthal@pharostribune.com
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