COLUMBUS, Ind. — A decision to add or not add more guardrails to the new railroad overpass on Columbus’ west side is up to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
During Tuesday’s Columbus Board of Works meeting, Dave Hayward, executive director of public works/city engineer, said local residents have been asking him about guardrails on the overpass ramps on a daily basis.
However, since the overpass is an INDOT project, adding guardrails would be their decision, he said.
“The guardrail that’s there now is what’s required, and the general policy of INDOT is ‘Don’t put a guardrail in that’s not necessary,'” Hayward said. “Because if you hit a guardrail, that’s going to do some damage. If you go over that slope, you should be able to stay upright and stop your car before you hit anything. So you’re not likely to do nearly as much damage going over the edge as if you hit a guardrail.”
Board of works members did approve five change orders for the overpass project on Tuesday. Hayward said that the total cost of change orders is still below 5% of the project’s original cost.
“We’re very much on target cost-wise,” he said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
