Published: July 10, 2009 09:59 pm      

Stimulus boost

INDOT approves road resurfacing in Cass and Carroll counties

With working progressing on its summer road remediation plan, the Cass County Highway Department received another boost this week with the news that three road resurfacing projects will receive federal economic stimulus funds.

Bids are open to contractors for resurfacing on a 5-1/2-mile stretch of 700E. from U.S. 35 to Ind. 18, 7-1/2 miles on Logansport Road from Longtree Road to 1100E., and 1/2 mile on 400S. from 150E. and 200E.

Engineering assessments of the projects estimate their combined cost at $2.1 million. Bidding letting by INDOT is scheduled for July 29, with a deadline of Oct. 12 for work to be complete.

Jeff Smith, project coordinator for CCHD, expects to see construction sometime in August, and given the size of the projects he anticipates that contractors will take around 30 days to complete the work.

Smith said he is surprised at the amount of time it has taken for the stimulus projects to be given the green light, but thinks that once it is completed, each project will be a benefit to anyone who travels in those areas.

“The projects also include new street lines, shoulder work and signs,” Smith said. “It will be a good road once it is finished.”

Four projects in Carroll County will also receive funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Bids are open for work on 75W from Camden’s town limits to 650N, 300W from Lockport Bridge to 1100N, Bicycle Bridge Road from 1200W to U.S. 421 and 1200W from county line to Bicycle Bridge Road. A deadline of Oct. 15 is set for work on these projects.

Rep. Rich McClain, R-Logansport, welcomed the news the counties will benefit from the stimulus funds.

“Giving Cass and Carroll counties to improve their roads, in my opinion, is a great use of federal stimulus money,” McClain said in a news release. “Not only is it going to benefit the local communities, it will also benefit local contractors looking for available construction projects in order to keep work coming in and avoid idle production.”

Smith said to receive funding for each of the projects from a source outside of county funds is a major boost for the county.

He said that while work on 700E was definitely a priority for the county, work on Logansport Road is less urgent but would be a large expense for the county when the work is required in the next few years.

“The stimulus fund is a preferred way of getting of funding instead of using county money.” Smith said. “We also hope by resurfacing Logansport Road, it will solve some of the water problems we have in wet weather.”

Smith said the relatively small project on 400S is in fact part of a larger project submitted to INDOT by the county and he is hopeful additional funds for more resurfacing work will be released in the November letting

“Three million dollars is the maximum that the county can get, and we hope that we can get the other part of the project approved so the rest of 400E will get funded,” Smith said. “If we hit that $2.1 million estimate when the bids come in, we might be able to get it.”

Details of 51 projects that the county is working on this summer were released earlier this week, and Smith said the work is progressing well.

“The plan is for all of those to be done by the end of the summer,” Smith said. “And outside of any fundamental disaster, we should be fine.”

• Kevin Smith is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5148 or kevin.smith@pharostribune.com