Chalk up a couple INDOT wins

The Indiana Department of Transportation rarely gets a round of applause on this page.

More often, it’s been taken to the woodshed.

But a couple of recent projects are worth some praise.

Closing a major route like U.S. 27 north and south through Jay County is never a simple matter. Detours are clumsy and are usually ignored. Inevitably folks either get lost or cause some damage trying to get from Point A to Point B.

So headaches were inevitable when INDOT tackled bridge work at Bloomfield, between Portland and Bryant.

What was not inevitable is the speed with which the work was accomplished. INDOT had promised it would be done in less than a month — a promise that caused some eye-rolling on the part of county officials — and got it done in about three weeks.

Kudos to everyone involved.

More recently, the nasty intersection of Tyson Road and Indiana 67 has gotten a major reconstruction.

It’s a busy spot, close to Jay County High School, Jay County REMC and the corporate offices of Jay Petroleum. 

And it was sorely in need of work.

Again, INDOT acted with unexpected dispatch.

The intersection was re-designed and re-built in a matter of days.

Sure, there were complications when Hot Rod magazine’s PowerTour arrived on the scene. But that’s not something that happens every day.

In both cases, INDOT gets good marks.

Now if we can just avoid a bunch of detours during the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association show. — J.R.