Trying to figure logic of INDOT (6/16/03)

The logic of the Indiana Department of Transportation has long been elusive.

But when it comes to U.S. 27, the state highway folks seems to have serious mental blocks that prevent them from doing the right thing.

As exhibit A, we'd submit this summer's construction plans.

INDOT has a big project on the agenda.

It's going to transform U.S. 27 south from Decatur all the way to Monroe into a four-lane highway.

Why? Who knows?

Is it so Fort Wayne shoppers can get to Amish quilt country more quickly?

Or is it so the poison of inner-city drugs can spread more rapidly into the rural county to the south of Fort Wayne?

There's nothing on a map that makes sense when it comes to the project.

And, coming at a time when state finances are tight, there's nothing compelling about doing the job right now.

But drive south from Portland, and you have another story.

There, as anyone who has driven it knows, you have an aging concrete highway long overdue for repaving. The ca-chunk-ca-chunk-ca-chunk is familiar to anyone who has been to Winchester lately.

Interestingly enough, if you go south a bit further, the highway improves.

There's smooth asphalt, and "cats' eyes" have been installed to mark the center divider.

But the Portland section is consistently lousy. And it has always been a fight to get INDOT to pay attention to it.

Anyone who actually drove on U.S. 27 from Fort Wayne to Richmond could easily identify the sections in need of repair and improvement.

The goofy four-lane project in northern Adams County tells us one thing, loud and clear: The people in charge aren't even bothering to drive on the roads they're scheduling for work.

There's simply no other way to explain the coexistence of a green-lighted unnecessary project and a neglected stretch of highway just down the road. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]