07/19/10 The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) held a public meeting on Thursday, July 15 for eight area communities to present their applications for federal funding which is appropriated through the LaPorte District.

Officials from each city or county were given 10 minutes to give a brief presentation on their proposed project, funds being requested and the community’s need for the project. Officials that submitted applications for additional funds were given 5 minutes to provide a brief explanation of the need for the funds being requested.

Marshall County Commissioner Kevin Overmyer and County Highway Superintendent Neal Haeck appeared before officials seeking additional funding for the 7th Road construction between the new US 31 and Pioneer Drive.  The County plans to construct the project in two phases.  Phase one would be from US 31 to Michigan Road while the second phase is from Michigan Road to Pioneer Drive. 

Total estimate for phase one of the project is $7.5 million. The county has already been approved for $2.3 million. Thursday they requested an additional $2 million.  They also received a TCSP (transportation, community and system preservation program) grant in the amount of $622,440 for preliminary engineering design and right of way acquisition.

The proposed project would be a rural minor arterial road with two lanes.  Length of the project is 2 miles and the proposed speed limit is 45 MPH.  With no way to actually determine the amount of traffic using the road way it is estimated the annual average daily traffic count would be 4,800 vehicles.

When explaining this project the County noted that the road will provide connectivity with the US 31 Alignment and Pioneer Drive and State Road 17.   There is community support behind this project including the Chamber of Commerce, City of Plymouth, and the US 31 Coalition.

Commissioner Kevin Overmyer said, “Additional funding for this project is critical for the US 31 alignment to proceed without delay.” He continued, “The US 31 corridor interchange at 7th Road and its interchange ramps are directly related to the timing of the preliminary engineering, right of way acquisition and construction of the 7th Road Extension Project.”     

 Other agencies that submitted applications last Thursday included:

Lakeville – U.S. 31 Streetscape

  • Starke County – County Road 500 North reconstruction
  • Cass County – County Road 300 South reconstruction
  • Cass County – High Street/Division rehabilitation
  • White County – 6th Street, Rickey Road reconstruction
  • Demotte – Division Street East reconstruction
  • LaPorte County – County Road 150 North rehabilitation

The applications submitted will be evaluated, scored and ranked by the LaPorte District staff. Awards will be made at the INDOT LPA Project Selection Committee Meeting on July 29 in Indianapolis.