J-turnThe Indiana Department of Transportation’s (INDOT) LaPorte District Office is developing plans for a proposed intersection improvement project on United States (U.S.) Route 31 at State Road (S.R.) 10 and Dewey Street in Marshall County. The proposed intersection improvement is a median U-turn, also known as a J-turn. The LaPorte District Office coordinates transportation planning, project development, construction and maintenance activities in northwest Indiana.

INDOT will host a public hearing on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, beginning at 6:00 p.m. (local time) at the Argos Community Jr. / Sr. High School, 500 Yearick Street, Argos, Indiana 46501.  

The purpose of the public hearing is to offer all interested persons an opportunity to comment on current design plans for proposed intersection improvement on U.S. 31 at S.R. 10 and Dewey Street in Marshall County, Indiana.

The purpose of the project is to enhance safety for vehicular traffic at the intersections of U.S. 31 and S.R. 10 and U.S. 31 at Dewey Street in Marshall County.

The proposed improvements involve converting the existing conventional intersection to a J-turn intersection to improve safety and reduce delay by separating traffic movements. J-turns improve the ability of traffic to cross a multilane divided highway from a crossroad and significantly reduce the risk of severe crashes. J-turn intersections increase safety by reducing by half or more the number of possible conflicts and the points where two vehicle paths cross. The conflict points eliminated are those most likely to produce severe injuries, notably right-angle or “T” crashes.

The environmental document and project materials will be available to view prior to the public hearing at the following locations:

  • Argos Public Library, 142 North Michigan Street, Argos, Indiana 46501; Phone# (574) 892-5818
  • INDOT LaPorte District Office, 315 E Boyd Blvd., La Porte, IN 46350; Phone # (855) 464-6368
  • LaPorte District web page at: http://www.in.gov/indot/2705.htm
  • INDOT Public Hearings Examiner, Indiana Government Center North, N642, 100 North Senate Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204‑2216, Phone # (317) 234‑0796

Information regarding J-turn intersections may be viewed by visiting http://www.in.gov/indot/3660.htm.

In accordance with the “Americans with Disabilities Act”, persons with disabilities requiring assistance and/or accommodation related to the accessibility to project documents and participation at the public hearing venue, are encouraged to contact Rickie Clark, INDOT Office of Public Involvement at (317) 232-6601 rclark@indot.in.gov. Also, persons of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) requiring assistance related to accessing project documents and participation at the public hearing venue, are encouraged to contact INDOT’s Office of Public Involvement. In addition, should you represent an ADA and/or LEP population, you are encouraged to contact INDOT with regard to coordinating services such as language, visual and audio interpretation services.