Construction of a new highway garage east of Petersville is mentioned by several Bartholomew County officials as among the most significant projects for the county scheduled for this year.
But in terms of public safety, another important endeavor will be creating safer railroad crossings at seven different locations along the Louisville & Indiana tracks through the county, the Bartholomew County commissioners said.
The commissioners, Larry Kleinhenz, Carl Lienhoop and Rick Flohr, along with county highway engineer Danny Hollander and county maintenance supervisor Rick Trimpe, talked about planned projects for county government during the upcoming year in a recent interview at the county courthouse.
County officials agreed to take a closer look at railroad crossing safety after four individuals died within five weeks in vehicle accidents with trains in late 2018.
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On Oct. 8, 2018, Joshua L. Kelso, 30, of Cloverdale and Justice M. Llewellyn, 20, of Franklin were killed when their SUV was hit by a train about a mile east of U.S. 31, next to the Hisada America Inc. facility in the Edinburgh Industrial Park area.
State police said a red 1996 Jeep Cherokee driven by Kelso was traveling east on County Road 900N when he disregarded the stop sign at the railroad crossing and drove into the path of a southbound Louisville & Indiana train, which consisted of two locomotives.
Five weeks later, two Columbus residents — Matthew K. Newland, 18, and Carmyn M. Elkins, 17 — died after their car turned into the path of an oncoming train at U.S. 31 and West County Road 550N.
Under a new multi-agency agreement, Bartholomew County government has agreed to pay for arms and lights at railroad crossings along three Bartholomew County roads — 800N, 650N and 950S, Hollander said.
Meanwhile, the Indiana Department of Transportation has agreed to finance similar safety measures along county roads 450N and 500N, while the Louisville & Indiana Railroad is paying to add arms and lights to crossings along County Road 550N and Spear Street, Hollander said.
“We’ve pushed and asked and begged for several years for an agreement like this,” commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said. “Now, we’re finally going to now see some results.”
Road projects
If the state of Indiana provides the 50/50 matching grant being sought, almost 38 miles of rural roads in Bartholomew County will receive a new blacktop this year, Hollander said. But if the request is denied, the 2020 overlay project will only cover 29 miles, he added.
A dime-a-gallon increase in the state gas tax enacted in 2017 has provided substantially more revenue for road, bridge and infrastructure improvements, the commissioners said. But much of that money is being awarded through the Community Crossings matching grant program, rather than allocations based on more traditional criteria such as population size.
The problem is that the program has become somewhat ineffective because it now requires applications for summer grants to be submitted in the first week of February — almost two months before damage inspections are made.
“We’re turning in roads based on how much damage they had last year,” Hollander said. “If other roads end up being really bad after this winter, we’re not going to be able to address them.”
Although Bartholomew County did receive a $590,000 matching grant during Round 2 of the 2019 Community Crossings grant program, that money didn’t arrive until it was too cold to do roadwork, Hollander said. While bids to put down a new blacktop from the Round 2 grant will be opened at the end of this month, the asphalt can’t be put in place until early spring, Hollander said.
In German Township, a new extension and reconfiguration of Hartman Drive, which was built in 2019, will be completed this year. It will provide drivers, especially commercial and industrial traffic, better access to U.S. 31. Those motorists are now directed to drive south along several blocks of access roads to get back on to the highway near Taco Bell, Hollander said.
“Right now, that intersection near Taco Bell is such a point of confusion and danger,” Kleinhenz said. “This extension will bring people at that intersection in at a different angle — especially trucks — so they can go through a new traffic signal.”
About 60 miles of county road will get the “chip and seal” treatment in 2020 — about the same as last year, Hollander said. Roughly three times less expensive than new blacktop, chip-and-seal treatments usually repair cracks for at least five years, and help prevent potholes from developing during freeze and thaw periods, Hollander said.
Bridge projects
There are three major bridges scheduled to be either replaced or upgraded this year. Hollander identified them as:
Bridge 44, located along County Road 425N, just east of County Road 800E.
Bridge 57 on Stafford Road, just west of County Road 1050E.
Bridge 278 on County Road 400S, east of State Road 11.
In addition, a structure across County Road 675W at Baker Hollow Road will be replaced.
In another large bridge project, the federal government is assisting with replacing the Lowell Bridge, Hollander said. Consultants are being brought in for the design phase, and efforts are underway to acquire right-of-way.
But replacing the over 60-year-old bridge near the junction of Lowell Road and County Road 325W will require several million dollars in federal funds, Hollander said. Assistance from Columbus Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is still needed to secure those funds, the commissioners said.
Despite the approval, federal funds to replace the deteriorating bridge are not expected to be in the county’s hands until 2025, Hollander said.
Highway garage
The commissioners are hopeful a new $7.1 million highway garage, which will be built this year east of the Clay Township Fire Department, will be completed by the end of 2020.
But it’s likely the highway department will wait until the spring of 2021 to leave its current facility near the intersection of State Street and Gladstone Avenue, and move to Petersville, Lienhoop said.
Future delays are also possible because Milestone Contractors, who has the contract for site preparation work, has several other contracts, including the overpass project at the junction of State Road 11 and State Road 46, Lienhoop said.
“Milestone has a really tight calendar,” Lienhoop said. “We lost a lot of time in late summer and early fall. I just hope we can keep everybody in close proximity next spring.”
Although the garage project will be partially financed through issuing bonds, that loan will be paid back through county economic development income tax (CEDIT) funds, instead of general fund money, Kleinhenz said.
“Since we have two different bond sources, there won’t be any tax increase,” Kleinhenz explained. “We have budgeted for this project, and will frugally make our (income tax) revenue work.”
Other projects
Effective this month, there are now three organizations serving the agricultural community housed in the same building.
Bartholomew County Soil and Water Conservation, which had been located on Second Street, moved into the same facility as the Purdue Extension Service at 783 S. Marr Road on Jan. 8 and 9. The move occurred just a few days after the USDA approved the building, which also houses the local Farm Service Agency.
“We really wanted a place that the agricultural community could consider their part of county government,” Kleinhenz said. “Now, we’ve accomplished it.”
While some work will be done to repair the exterior of the 146-year Bartholomew County Courthouse this year, the upgrades will be limited in their scope, Trimpe said. This year’s courthouse projects will include modernizing the elevator, inspecting windows and roofing fixtures, and repairing a large and deteriorating retaining wall off Third Street, Trimpe said.
But more intricate and expensive masonry work such as tuckpointing, as well as upper facade work, won’t be done this year. Those labor-intensive renovations will require extensive scaffolding or lifts, and the work will easily cost taxpayers more than $1 million, Lienhoop said.
Another high-cost project will be the installation of a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the Bartholomew County Jail. Some of the air conditioning and heating units were installed when the jail first opened 30 years ago, Trimpe said. Two units went down a few years ago, and the efficiency ratings on those units are not very good, he said.
But since the HVAC upgrade is also expected to cost more than $1 million, that project will remain on hold for at least a few more years, Kleinhenz said.
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The following is a list of significant projects from Bartholomew County government that will take place in 2020.
- Lights and arms will be added to either side of railroad tracks crossing rural roads at seven locations.
- Construction of new county highway garage beginning this spring east of Petersville
- Up to 39 miles of rural roads will get a new blacktop, while about 60 miles will have less-expensive chip and seal repairs.
- Hartman Drive, near the Indiana Outlet Mall, will be reconfigured and upgraded to allow less confusing access to U.S. 31.
- Bridges to be replaced or upgraded located along County Road 425N, just east or Road 800E -along Stafford Road, west of County Road 1050E – and on County Road 400S, east of State Road 11.
- Three agencies now housed at 783 S. Marr Road: the Purdue Extension office, Bartholomew County Soil and Water Conservation, and the Farm Service Agency.
- Courthouse renovations for this year include modernizing the elevator and repairing a large retaining wall off Third St.
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