The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the public hearing for the State Road 32 roadway improvement project will be held on Thursday, May 11 at Western Boone Junior-Senior High School, at 1205 State Road 75, Thorntown. The hearing will be held from 6-9 p.m.
The purpose of this proposed project is to maintain the road’s level of service, restore the rideability of the pavement, and to improve access control at the gas station in the southwest quadrant of the S.R. 32 intersection with S.R. 75.
The overall project length includes work from approximately 3.69 miles west of S.R. 75 to approximately 0.5 miles west of I-65. The proposed project includes constructing a functional Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) overlay, and the addition of three passing lanes (two eastbound and one westbound) that will each be approximately one mile long. The HMA overlay portion of the project will be located on S.R. 32 from 0.05 miles west S.R. 75 to 0.5 miles west of I-65. The added passing lanes portion of this project will be located on S.R. 32 from 3.69 miles west of S.R. 75 to 2.47 miles east of S.R. 75. In total, the proposed improvements will involve 6.62 miles of milling and resurfacing work and approximately three miles of added passing lanes. New roadside ditches will need to be established within the passing lane areas. The cross section of the passing lane additions will include two, 12-foot travel lanes, one 12-foot passing lane and three-foot paved shoulders. An additional five-foot aggregate shoulder will be installed along the passing lane for a total shoulder width of eight-feet. This project also involves various culvert replacements along S.R. 32. This project will also include the addition of a curbed, concrete island to better define the entrance to the gas station, located on the southwest corner of the S.R. 32 intersection with S.R. 75.
This proposed project involves phased construction, and is not expected to utilize a complete road closure. After the passing lanes are constructed, the HMA overlay will be constructed utilizing a flagging operation. Two-way traffic is anticipated to be maintained along S.R. 32. Access to residents and businesses will be maintained during construction. The estimated cost of this project is approximately $16,500,000 and uses both federal and state funds.
INDOT will coordinate with emergency services, local school corporation officials and project stakeholders to ensure potential disruptions and impacts are minimized as much as possible.
Federal and state funds are proposed to be used for construction of this project. INDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have agreed that this project poses minimal impact to natural environment. A Categorical Exclusion (CE) environmental document has been prepared for the project. The environmental documentation and preliminary design information is available to view prior at the following locations:
- Lebanon Public Library at 104 E. Washington St., Lebanon, IN 46052
- INDOT Crawfordsville District at 41 West 300 North, Crawfordsville, IN 47933
Additionally, a project webpage will be created prior to the public hearing to ensure project information is available on-line via the project sponsors web page Crawfordsville.indot.in.gov, if you are unable to attend in person. Lastly, project information, including the environmental document, may be mailed upon request.
Public statements for the record will be taken as part of the public hearing procedure. All verbal statements recorded during the public hearing and all written comments submitted prior to, during and for a period of two (2) weeks following the hearing date, will be evaluated, considered and addressed in subsequent environmental documentation. Written comments may be submitted prior to the public hearing and within the comment period to the attention of Dylan Sievers at 8770 North Street, Suite 110, Fishers, IN 46038, at 317-588-1739, or at [email protected]. INDOT respectfully requests that comments be submitted by May 26, 2023.
With advance notice, INDOT will provide accommodations for persons with disabilities with regards to participation and access to project information as part of the hearings process including arranging auxiliary aids, interpretation services for the hearing impaired, services for the sight impaired and other services as needed. In addition, INDOT will provide accommodations for persons of Limited English Proficiency (LEP) requiring auxiliary aids including language interpretation services and document conversion. Should accommodation be required please contact Karen Arnold, INDOT Project Manager, Crawfordsville District at (765) 361-5241 or at [email protected].