January 22, 2018 at 6:33 p.m.
No work in ’18
INDOT has no projects scheduled in Jay County after three consecutive years of major road work
Copyright 2018, The Commercial Review
Flaggers and detours won’t be part of the landscape this year.
After three consecutive years of major Indiana Department of Transportation construction projects in Jay County, the calendar is clear for 2018. Not only is their no major road construction, there are no INDOT projects slated for the county at all.
The year off from major state or U.S. highway work comes after the repaving of U.S. 27 between Portland and Bryant in 2017, the reconstruction and re-routing of Indiana 26 between Indiana 67 and Indiana 1 in 2016, and the reconstruction of Water Street (Indiana 26) on the east side of Portland in 2015.
That work eliminated a lot of the major problems on local INDOT-maintained roads, which county engineer Dan Watson said would now get a passing grade.
“I think they’re probably good,” he said. “I wouldn’t say they’re excellent, but they’re good.”
Both the 2015 and ’16 major road projects in Jay County had been in the works for more than a decade.
The improvements to about three-quarters of a mile of Water Street between Meridian Street and the eastern city limits had first been brought up in 2001, with construction finally coming 14 years later. It featured reconstruction of the street that had been riddled with ever-expanding potholes, widening the lanes to 11 feet, adding grass buffer strips and installing 4-foot-wide sidewalks.
The city negotiated with INDOT to share costs to allow for the replacement of water and sewer lines, which dated back to the 1800s and 1950s, respectively. New LED street lights were also part of the $4.2 million project.
The Indiana 26 project on the west side of the county was even longer in the making — discussion began in the 1990s and INDOT had acquired rights of way in 2009 — when construction finally got started in May 2016. The bulk of that work involved reconstructing and widening of just over 7 miles of the road — lanes went from 8 to 9 feet wide to 11 feet wide with 2-foot shoulders — as well as eliminating the 90-degree turns at county road 300 West.
Crews also built a new bridge over Brooks Creek, about a half-mile east of Indiana 1, and Ohio Valley Gas pipelines were moved to accommodate the road work.
At $8.2 million, it was the largest road construction project in the county in decades.
Watson pointed out that though the Indiana 26 work is complete, sections of county road 50 North and Division Road that were used for hauling during the project have yet to be repaved.
The recent major projects rounded out last year with the repaving of U.S. 27 from county road 100 North to Indiana 18 at a cost of $3.02 million. (U.S. 27 from Indiana 18 to Geneva had been repaved in 2016.)
Next on his wish list, Watson said, would be work on Indiana 1 between Redkey and Pennville.
“I’d like to see them do some reconstruction and fix some low spots where it floods all the time,” he said. “It’s going to take more than just resurfacing. It needs reconstruction.”
Originally, there was work scheduled for this year to work on a pair of bridges — one on U.S. 27 over Bear Creek just north of county road 500 North and the other on Indiana 26 over the Salamonie River at Portland’s eastern city limits. Those, however, were pushed back.
Bid letting for the bridge over Bear Creek is now scheduled for October. A month later, bid letting will be held for repaving Indiana 1 in Pennville.
Though there is no INDOT work scheduled for Jay County in 2018, Watson is hoping some small projects can be dealt with.
“I’ve got a lot of little issues,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get them to do something with the approach out there at Tyson Road and 67. It’s getting so bad.”
Work in adjacent counties this year includes patching and pavement rehabilitation of a section of Indiana 28 in Ridgeville, repaving U.S. 27 from Geneva to Monroe and replacing two bridges on U.S. 27 in Adams County.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Next Level Roads Plan that was announced last year included local projects to repave Indiana 1 from Indiana 18 in Jay County to Indiana 218 in Wells County in 2019, repave Indiana 167 south of Dunkirk in 2020 and replace the Indiana 26 bridge over the Salamonie River in 2021.
Flaggers and detours won’t be part of the landscape this year.
After three consecutive years of major Indiana Department of Transportation construction projects in Jay County, the calendar is clear for 2018. Not only is their no major road construction, there are no INDOT projects slated for the county at all.
The year off from major state or U.S. highway work comes after the repaving of U.S. 27 between Portland and Bryant in 2017, the reconstruction and re-routing of Indiana 26 between Indiana 67 and Indiana 1 in 2016, and the reconstruction of Water Street (Indiana 26) on the east side of Portland in 2015.
That work eliminated a lot of the major problems on local INDOT-maintained roads, which county engineer Dan Watson said would now get a passing grade.
“I think they’re probably good,” he said. “I wouldn’t say they’re excellent, but they’re good.”
Both the 2015 and ’16 major road projects in Jay County had been in the works for more than a decade.
The improvements to about three-quarters of a mile of Water Street between Meridian Street and the eastern city limits had first been brought up in 2001, with construction finally coming 14 years later. It featured reconstruction of the street that had been riddled with ever-expanding potholes, widening the lanes to 11 feet, adding grass buffer strips and installing 4-foot-wide sidewalks.
The city negotiated with INDOT to share costs to allow for the replacement of water and sewer lines, which dated back to the 1800s and 1950s, respectively. New LED street lights were also part of the $4.2 million project.
The Indiana 26 project on the west side of the county was even longer in the making — discussion began in the 1990s and INDOT had acquired rights of way in 2009 — when construction finally got started in May 2016. The bulk of that work involved reconstructing and widening of just over 7 miles of the road — lanes went from 8 to 9 feet wide to 11 feet wide with 2-foot shoulders — as well as eliminating the 90-degree turns at county road 300 West.
Crews also built a new bridge over Brooks Creek, about a half-mile east of Indiana 1, and Ohio Valley Gas pipelines were moved to accommodate the road work.
At $8.2 million, it was the largest road construction project in the county in decades.
Watson pointed out that though the Indiana 26 work is complete, sections of county road 50 North and Division Road that were used for hauling during the project have yet to be repaved.
The recent major projects rounded out last year with the repaving of U.S. 27 from county road 100 North to Indiana 18 at a cost of $3.02 million. (U.S. 27 from Indiana 18 to Geneva had been repaved in 2016.)
Next on his wish list, Watson said, would be work on Indiana 1 between Redkey and Pennville.
“I’d like to see them do some reconstruction and fix some low spots where it floods all the time,” he said. “It’s going to take more than just resurfacing. It needs reconstruction.”
Originally, there was work scheduled for this year to work on a pair of bridges — one on U.S. 27 over Bear Creek just north of county road 500 North and the other on Indiana 26 over the Salamonie River at Portland’s eastern city limits. Those, however, were pushed back.
Bid letting for the bridge over Bear Creek is now scheduled for October. A month later, bid letting will be held for repaving Indiana 1 in Pennville.
Though there is no INDOT work scheduled for Jay County in 2018, Watson is hoping some small projects can be dealt with.
“I’ve got a lot of little issues,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get them to do something with the approach out there at Tyson Road and 67. It’s getting so bad.”
Work in adjacent counties this year includes patching and pavement rehabilitation of a section of Indiana 28 in Ridgeville, repaving U.S. 27 from Geneva to Monroe and replacing two bridges on U.S. 27 in Adams County.
Gov. Eric Holcomb’s Next Level Roads Plan that was announced last year included local projects to repave Indiana 1 from Indiana 18 in Jay County to Indiana 218 in Wells County in 2019, repave Indiana 167 south of Dunkirk in 2020 and replace the Indiana 26 bridge over the Salamonie River in 2021.
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