The Indiana Department of Transportation is seeking public input to better develop the U.S. 30 corridor from Valparaiso east to the Indiana/Ohio border, excluding the Ft. Wayne bypass, as well as the U.S. 31 corridor south from Plymouth to Hamilton County, excluding the Kokomo bypass.
An initial round of public information meetings will begin this fall, though dates have yet to be announced.
Known as ProPEL U.S. 30 and ProPEL U.S. 31, the studies will encompass 180 miles of roadway across 12 counties, and stand for Planning and Environmental Linkages. These studies aim to bring together a wide array of end users from those who live along the highways, to those using them, and businesses populating their corridors to get their input on what is needed and wanted before any construction begins.
The studies will affect Allen, Fulton, Hamilton, Howard, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall, Miami, Porter, Starke, Tipton and Whitley counties, and will include a no-build alternative for each corridor.
INDOT plans to document community needs, concerns, and goals and balance them with engineering and environmental concerns during a two-year study phase.
In-person and virtual public meetings will be held, as well as individual meetings. Social media and a project website will also be utilized.
The study seeks Hoosier input on environmental, community, and economic goals for these roadways. “We have not yet identified any alternatives that we’ll be looking at. Essentially we’ll be starting with a clean slate,” said Natalie Garrett, strategic communications specialist for INDOT.
Public input sessions will be announced through newspapers, project websites and social media. Results will be presented in the fall of 2024. “It will be a very transparent process for the next 24 months,” said Tim Miller, a member of the project team for INDOT.
ProPEL U.S. 30 and ProPEL U.S. 31 will each be divided into two study areas; east and west for U.S. 30 and north and south for U.S. 31. The U.S. 30 study is expected to cost around $11 million and the U.S. 31 study around $10 million.
Sandra Flum, project manager for ProPEL U.S. 30, said there is a strong coalition for the two highways making sure the projects are treated consistently and the work is done in tandem. The study timeline sees vision and scoping conducted in fall 2022, purpose and need formed in spring and summer of 2023, and alternatives analysis hashed out by late 2023/early 20224.
Get involved
Visit www.ProPELUS30.com and www.ProPELUS31.com to see maps and project information, sign up for email notifications and updates and fill out online comment forms.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
