Motorists whose vehicles stack up for more than a mile eastbound on 109th Avenue at its intersection with U.S. 41 near Crown Point will be getting a little traffic congestion relief sooner than expected.
Lake County’s Board of Commissioners approved a plan Wednesday to use some of the $7 million in bond funds approved last summer and set aside for road maintenance projects to add a left and right turn lane at the intersection to help move traffic along.
Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-2nd, said the intersection has become a hazard as development in the area has steadily increased. Currently, U.S. 41 north and south and U.S. 231 east of U.S. 41 are three lanes while 109th Avenue is only one. The turn lanes are needed, he said.
“It’s very important we get this project started,” Scheub said.
At peak travel times such as the evening rush, vehicles start backing up as soon as one motorist attempts to turn left on U.S. 41. Since there is no turn lane, only a couple vehicles can get through the intersection during each green light, causing traffic backups to White Oak Avenue and beyond.
The intersection has become dangerous, Scheub said. In the past three years there have been 43 accidents at the intersection resulting in two fatalities.
“This is an emergency,” Scheub said.
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission placed 109th Avenue into its plan to obtain federal funds to widen the road to three lanes, but that project will not begin until 2019.
Mark Malczewski, highway superintendent, said his department “gets a lot of complaints” concerning the intersection. It was not one of the original projects earmarked for the bond funds but officials do not want to wait any longer to fix it.
The office is in the preliminary stages of planning the project and looking into right of way availability and utility easements. The project is budgeted for $625,000. He said the cost will depend in part on what right-of-ways may be needed or what utilities moved. Malczewski said he expects to know the full scope of the project within a few weeks.
“We are hoping to get into construction this fall,” Malczewski said.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post Tribune.
