Projects could snarl area traffic (1/18/05)

Getting to and from Portland and other areas of the county could be a little tricky this spring and summer, as state officials have projects scheduled on state roads in four directions.

Jay County engineer Dan Watson told Jay County Commissioners Monday that he has received notification about several culvert replacement projects from officials at the Indiana Department of Transportation.

The replacement of what is designated as three “small structures,” or concrete box culverts, on Ind. 67 and two culverts north of Portland on U.S. 27 will make trips for local motorists and those passing through just a little bit longer.

Also scheduled for the spring/summer is completion of a major resurfacing project on U.S. 27 between Jay County road 700 South and Deerfield in Randolph County, a small bridge replacement on Ind. 26 east of Portland and another south of Dunkirk on Ind. 167.

According to the INDOT web site, the resurfacing of Ind. 1 from Pennville to Ind. 18 is scheduled to be bid next month, along with preliminary work on improving and enlarging the intersection of Ind. 1 and Ind. 67 in Redkey.

“They’ve got seven projects right now that I’m aware of, and possibly one or two north of Pennville,” Watson said this morning. “It could be a real nightmare for Jay County (travel) for the spring.”

Watson said he has requested a meeting with INDOT officials to discuss concerns he has over the closing of long stretches of roads or multiple state or federal roads at the same time.

A spokesperson for INDOT said this morning that specific dates have been established for only the Ind. 167 project south of Dunkirk. That project is scheduled to begin in early April, with completion by June 15, Jessica Stevens of INDOT said.

The work on Ind. 67 will be near county road 300 West, near county road 400 South (just west of the Jay County Landfill) and southwest of Redkey near county road 700 South. Watson said he will ask the state to consider keeping one lane of traffic open during the work — especially at the site near the landfill — and possibly staggering the times when the roads are closed.

Watson said that if a large number of trucks bound for the landfill use county roads as local detours, the damage to those roads could be extensive.

INDOT’s Stevens said that keeping a lane of traffic open is not feasible, because the culverts are pre-formed in one piece that spans the width of the road and shoulder.

She said that the three Ind. 67 culvert projects will take 30 to 45 days each, and that all three projects will be staggered individually.

“Considering the length of time (with three projects) they are probably going to have to start as soon as possible in the spring,” Stevens said.

One of Watson’s roles prior to a state project is to designate what he and highway superintendent Ken Wellman believe will be the most frequently used local detour for state road closures.

INDOT will survey that detour and will pay for repair of damages caused during the time the state route is closed.

Small culverts also are set for replacement on U.S. 27 near county roads 300 and 400 North, along with one on Ind. 26 about 4.5 miles east of Portland.

“We don’t have any good north-south roads close to (U.S. 27),” Watson said. “We can post an unofficial detour for local traffic, but you know as well as I do semis try to sneak around and tear the heck out of roads.”[[In-content Ad]]A few phone calls saved the county a few hundred bucks on a new phone system for the courthouse annex.

Jay County Commissioners, who discussed a request from two county agencies for the new system Monday morning, approved buying a new system from Sprint at a cost of $6,401.42 in the afternoon.

That price was almost $500 less than a quote obtained earlier by officials from the Jay County Health Department and Jay County office of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, the two agencies that occupy the annex at 504 W. Arch St.

After discussing the purchase in the morning, commissioners’ president Milo Miller Jr. talked by phone with two officials from Sprint — including community affairs director Jack Moore — and got the price for the system lowered.

The amount of the Sprint system was still about $55 higher than a quote from Allstar Communications of Fort Wayne, but the commissioners said they preferred the Sprint system because there is a local service facility.

The system will include voice mail and several wireless headsets for the extension service.

Jay County health officer Dr. Steve Myron promised that calls will not be answered by an automated system unless all lines to the office are busy. He also said the system would provide a way for an on-call representative of the health department to be paged via cellular telephone.

Dave Houck, environmentalist/administrator for the health department, said the current system in use at the courthouse annex dates to at least the mid 1980s and cannot be repaired.

Also speaking to the commissioners was John Knipp, director of the county extension service.

Also Monday afternoon, Jay County recorder Betty St. Myers explained her decision recently to charge a fee for recording deeds on property purchased by the county for bridge rights-of-way.

St. Myers told the commissioners she was told at a recorder’s conference in 2004 that the fees should be charged to county and city governments. Some state agencies are exempted from the fee by state law.

“I’m just trying to do what the state wants me to do,” she said.

Commissioner Gary Theurer discussed the issue by phone Monday afternoon with District 33 State Rep. Bill Davis (R-Portland). Theurer said the commissioners believed that county governments should also be exempt from the fee, since it is being paid from a tax fund. A total of $17 of the $20 fee went to the county general fund. A fee of $3 was retained in the recorder’s perpetuation fund.