The Indiana Department of Transportation held a public hearing Thursday night at Frankfort High School to discuss the preliminary proposal for the State Road 28 Road Reconstruction in Clinton County that will start next year and run for two years.
Approximately 70 individuals attended the hearing with several local officials present. Also, about 12 people elected to take advantage of the public speaking part of the session. Those individual comments will go into the record for INDOT’s decision making process. Those interested in making comments have until October 14 to say anything about the project. Comments can be made to [email protected] or be mailed to INDOT Public Hearings, IGCN Room N642, 100 N. Senate Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46204.
INDOT’s Office of Public Involvement Officer Rickie Clark handled the proceedings and talked about what the emphasis of the project is.
“The biggest part of this project is the state of disrepair of the pavement,” said Clark. “We will be looking at the environment in its totality. We’re going to keep the road open during the entire project with construction starting in the spring of 2020.”
Individuals who commented discussed one main topic — the jog at Hoke and Walnut — which, as of now, is not even a part of the project.
“I pressed INDOT tonight and so did many other citizens,” said Frankfort Mayor Chris McBarnes. “”They’re bidding this out (in January). They’re going to have contractors in here. From a cost standpoint and using the taxpayers dollars, it’s a shame that we can’t do something with the jog at Hoke and Walnut when they have a $20 million project going on. It’s one of the biggest headaches in the community. Why not do something to fix it?”
INDOT Communications Director Debbie Calder was asked if she was surprised by the comments.
“Not necessarily,” she said. “From driving through Frankfort for years, I know some of the frustration people have with the jog and that’s something we’ll continue to monitor and look at. Right now, it isn’t a part of this project.”
The project length is 2.4 miles and is scheduled to run from the intersection of State Road 28 and County Road 200 West, proceeding east along State Road 28 to Hoke Avenue. State Road 28 will be resurfaced from County Road 200 West to Blinn Street, Also, 28 from Blinn Street eastward to Hoke Avenue will be reconstructed and a right turn lane will be added from westbound State Road 28 to northbound Jackson Street.
In addition, the storm water system, sidewalks on the south side of State Road 28 will be reconstructed with the sidewalks on the north side of State Road 28 replaced with a shared used path.
As far as traffic is concerned, the plan to maintain local access to all businesses and residences during construction by maintaining one lane of traffic in the westbound direction. Traffic will be phased with construction west of Jackson Street in 2020 and construction east of Jackson Street in 2021. While each of these sections is under construction the eastbound traffic will be detoured and the westbound will remain open to one lane of traffic.
“The project’s going to be great when it gets done, but it’s going to be a nightmare to get through it,” said McBarnes. “I want residents and business owners to know they have a direct outlet to go to with INDOT. If they have problems at their property or their business, we can get these things taken care of.”
McBarnes added one more very important thing.
“We appreciate INDOT spending $20 million, but we want to make sure they do it right,” he said. “This is our community and it’s a main thoroughfare. It’s been a long talked about project and it’s important for residents to know that our voice matters. We all spoke up as one and gave some great comments in regards to safety, sidewalks and the road itself. This was about holding INDOT accountable and making sure our voice was at the table in regards to this major state project.”