Published: October 10, 2008 03:29 pm         

Commissioners hear report on status of road projects

Highlights from a report to county commissioners by the county highway superintendent, Steve Easley, and project coordinator, Jeff Smith:

• Cass County will need to determine local road detours while INDOT rebuilds Ind. 16 from Twelve Mile to U.S. 31. The project is expected to begin in late 2010 or early 2011. Twelve Mile residents have concerns with Grable Ditch, which runs under Ind. 16. The ditch is collapsing in places. The information was forwarded to the surveyor, who will have a contractor inspect the problem.

• 600E construction is progressing, but the road remains closed to through traffic. Application of pavement is nearing completion. Deichman personnel continue to work on ditches and shoulders. “The project is moving along very nicely,” Smith said. “We are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel as far as completion of that.”

• Improvement of the Logansport Road and 600E intersection is nearing completion. Final paving should occur this week. The section between the intersection and the bridge have been milled and are planned to be completed at the same time.

• Plans for 300S at Ind. 25 are moving forward. County commissioners and highway department representatives recently joined personnel from The Andersons and ADM in a meeting to review final road design. Everyone seemed pleased with the design, Smith said.

• Traffic studies around the Industrial Park have been completed. Data is being compiled. Smith said nothing has been standing out in regards to high truck traffic in the area. The highway department will continue to monitor the area and may do another count.

• Additional traffic counts are planned for the area around 300S and 400S near the ethanol plant. “Now that the harvest season is getting in full swing, we’re going to put those counters out there very soon,” Smith said.

• Highway personnel continue cleaning debris from under and around seven bridges in Cass County. The effort should be completed in the next couple of weeks.

• The highway department has given final sign-off on the Broad Ripple Bridge project. Construction signs are down now, and the project is completely done, Smith said.

• There may be another, less expensive option for fixing the pipe on 500E just north of 425N. The initial plan was to install a bridge at the cost of $250,000. The alternative plan is to install another pipe and use a geo-grid material that provides support in poor soil environments.

• All of the chip and seal and grind and pug activities are complete for 2008. The highway department is now gathering data for next year. Work in 2009 will depend on oil prices and the cost of other required resources, Easley said.

• The highway department is developing a work plan for winter weather situations. “What we’re trying to do now is come up with a generic scope of what it is we think we need to be looking at and how we’re going to about addressing it,” Easley said. Areas under review include but are not limited to defining levels of severity, critical/key areas of operation in the county, equipment prep, school bus routes, hours of work, salt supply and communication. Easley would like to have the sheriff’s department and school corporations involved in the process.

• The highway department is implementing an electronic fleet management and inventory control system to track and monitor usage. An expected benefit is money savings. “The mission here is that we have a lot of inventory out there,” Easley said. “Some of it is critical, some of it is convenience. And with money being the way it is, we want to buy the right things at the right time, but in the same respect, the items that we need we want them to be available to us.”

Wiers International Truck is already on board. Easley would like to expand the program to include other vendors.

• All highway department employees are getting first aid and CPR training this week. Easley said that highway employees may be able provide assistance in case of emergency. “We’re prepping ourselves for something we hope never happens, but if it does, hopefully we’ll be prepared to deal with it.” As another safety precaution, all county trucks and supervisory vehicles now have first aid kits and fire extinguishers onboard.

• In 2009, the highway department is going digital for data collection and retention in order to improve monitoring and efficiency. Easley said there is still manual entries in use for fuel usage and vehicle maintenance costs. “I think it’s just a matter of us needing to move into the 21st century here,” Easley said.

• The county intends to seek restitution for damages to highway property resulting from vehicle crashes.

• Clean-up of facilities, equipment and grounds at the highway garage on Ind. 17 continues.