DENVER — More than 50 people attended a recent public meeting regarding the widening of Ind. 16 from Twelve Mile to U.S. 31.

At North Miami High School north of Denver last week, the Indiana Department of Transportation and consultant AECOM Technical Services provided preliminary details on the 4.68-mile, $5 million project, 80 percent of which will be funded by the federal fuel tax. Construction is set to begin in early 2011 and be finished within the year. However, that long-anticipated start date is subject to change, warned Mary Jackman of INDOT.

“Please be aware that this date depends on several factors, one of which is land acquisition,” Jackman said.

AECOM says that to widen the right-of-way 25 to 40 feet on either side of the centerline will require nearly 39 acres of land from properties along the highway in Cass and Miami counties.

Project representatives were available to answer questions, and they offered information on how land would be acquired. Jackman said highway officials were expecting no relocations.

Butch Williams, a Twelve Mile resident, said he wanted layers removed from the highway to resolve drainage issues he said had turned his home into “waterfront property.”

“This 16 project has a lot of problems, and hopefully they can get it right this time,” Williams said.

Michael Preboske of AECOM said that from Shawnee Court to Rabbit Street in Twelve Mile the highway surface would be milled and a new layer of asphalt would be applied. Other improvements include resurfacing of parking lanes, repairs to sidewalks, installing handicapped accessible ramps and putting in new stormwater grates.

In reviewing the project’s scope, Preboske explained the need for improving Ind. 16. The highway has narrow lanes and shoulders, pavement is deteriorating throughout and utility poles, steep banks and trees close to the road present safety hazards, he said.

Trees will also be removed. Pull-offs at mailboxes will be added, culvert pipes crossing beneath the highway will be replaced and ditches will be opened up. To slow settling, INDOT also plans to use a shredded-tire fill over swampy areas as a way of limiting the weight of the wider pavement.

Reacting to news that many of the overhead power lines would be buried, Max Sullivan said he remembered when REMC put up the utility poles some 50 years ago. Since then, he said, farmers have had to plow around them.

“Why did it take so long?” he asked.

From Twelve Mile to U.S. 31, the existing roadway will be widened to 11-foot lanes with 4-foot shoulders. The entire section will receive a new surface. Just two feet of the shoulder will be paved with the other two feet being stone. To reduce right-of-way impact on front yards higher than the highway, curb and gutter will be used along the shoulder.

A hill on Ind. 16 near 900E will be reduced to alleviate poor visibility at the intersection.

Preboske assured that the project would have minimal impact on the cemetery east of Twelve Mile.

The detour route will be U.S. 31 to Ind. 25 in Rochester.

Hal McClain of McClain Funeral Home at Ind. 16 and U.S. 31 asked that tile be installed on his property for better drainage and that the slop of ditches be changed to make mowing easier.

All comments collected before, during and for a period of two weeks after the hearing will be evaluated and addressed in the final design study report.

Sen. Randy Head offered his services, along with those of Rep. Bill Friend and Eric Gutwein and county government officials, to make sure all concerns were addressed.

“Our jobs are to answer your questions,” said Head, who admitted that because the plans were preliminary no one had all the answers yet.



Have a comment?

Anyone wishing to comment of the Ind. 16 widening project can do so by e-mailing Mary Jackman of INDOT at mjackman@indot.in.gov or calling (317) 234-0796.



Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.