Valley sees road work ahead: Several project slated to begin in Terre Haute, Vigo County

Apr. 9—Spring brings the start of road work throughout the Wabash Valley.

Asphalt plants typically begin production of hot mix asphalt in April, marking the start of paving projects.

And Terre Haute and Vigo County have several road projects slated to begin, backed by funds from the state's Community Crossings grant. For both the city and county, the grants are matched with 50% local funding.

"I think it should be a good year. We have about $2.2 million in community crossings work and about $500,000 in other paving," said Terre Haute City Engineer Marcus Mauer.

"We will have some miscellaneous drainage contracts that will also impact some roads," Mauer said.

The community crossing paving projects, covering 6 miles in the city, include:

—Fruitridge Avenue from Wallace Avenue to Interstate 70.

—Wabash Avenue from 35th Street to Highland Lawn Cemetery.

—Johnson Avenue from Third Street to 4th Street.

—Johnson Drive from South Third Street Place to U.S. 41.

—4th Street from Davis Avenue to East Hospital Lane.

—7th Street from Davis Avenue to Royse Drive.

—Davis Avenue from Third Street to Seventh Street.

—Locust Street from 25th Street to Heritage Trail Apartments.

—Locust Street from Brown Avenue to Heritage Lane.

—Walnut Street from Third Street to 19th Street.

Additional work includes paving Elm Street from 25th to Brown Avenue using its city street funds, as well as Lombardi Drive from Indiana 63 to the city limits.

"We also have some patching work on Thompson Street from Margaret Avenue to Wheeler Avenue and will do some work on East Hulman Drive and Hunt Road by the [Terre Haute Regional] airport," Mauer said. "We are also trying to get Brown Avenue done, from Dean Avenue to Wallace Avenue. It is ready to go, but we are waiting on utility relocations.

"Most this work is resurfacing so it will be pretty quick, but there will be a lot going on in a short time," Mauer said. "I would expect from April to the end of June you will see a lot of paving."

"We have about 730 lane miles to maintain in Terre Haute. Using lane miles is a good tool of measurement for maintenance as a mile of 4 lane road has 4 lane miles or a 2 lane road has 2 miles. The mile of each road is not the same cost to maintain, but the cost of the work per lane mile is similar," Mauer said.

Vigo County

Since 2018, Vigo County has been working to repave at least 30 miles of asphalt roadway plus chip and seal at least 10 miles of roads annually, said Vigo County Engineer/Highway Director Larry Robbins.

While asphalt paving puts down a new road surface, a road that is chip and sealed has a thin layer of asphalt laid down then covered with crushed stone and aggregate compacted on top of the asphalt. It is a less expensive option for roads not as frequently traveled.

The county will pave nearly 13 miles of roadway, costing more than $1.8 million, using funds from the state's Community Crossings grants approved in 2022. The county has also applied for Community Crossings grant funding for 2023. If approved, the county could pave an additional 17 miles this year, Robbins said.

The county will also fund an additional 30 miles of road work from its county roadway budget.

"That falls in line with our pavement management plan. We try to improve roughly 30 to 40 miles per year," Robbins said.

The county is also gearing up to begin work on April 12 to shut down one lane of East Springhill Drive between South 7th Street and Erie Canal Road. That work, initially slated to start March 13, has been delayed for Frontier Communications to relocate its service lines, Robbins said.

Plans call for East Springhill Drive to become three lanes, with a center turn lane.

"Hopefully we should be able to get that project done this year," Robbins said. "It was to be a two-[construction] season project, but hopefully we can get it all done in one season and have it open by the end of November."

Three projects so far this year, funded from Indiana's Community Crossings grant, include:

—Baldwin Street from Rio Grande Avenue to Greencastle Road.

—Greencastle Road from Rio Grande Avenue to the county line

—Battlerow Place from Farmer Drive to Middletown Drive.

Other county paving/road improvement projects slated for this season include:

—Lama Street from Indiana 46 to Gross Road.

—Main Street in Seelyville to Struble Avenue.

—Struble Avenue from Main Street to Tabertown Street.

—Randall Street from Flesher Avenue to Grotto Road.

—Sugar Grove/George Clem Road from Palmer Street to Tabortown Street. (mill/chip and seal)

—Bloomington Road from Tabortown Street to the county line. (mill/chip and seal)

—Cummingsville Street from Cottom Drive to Price Street.

—Hunt Street from U.S. 40 to Indiana 42. (road seal project)

Other projects include:

—Funkhouser Place from New Goshen Avenue to Haymaker Avenue (mill/chip and seal)

—Pennington Road from Sherburne Place to U.S. 150 (mill/chip and seal)

—Haymaker Avenue from Funkhouser Place to Sherburne Place (mill/chip and seal)

—Sherburne Place from U.S. 150 to Pennington Road (chip and seal)

—Gosnell Place from Thralls Road to Concannon Avenue (mill, chip and seal)

—Watson Avenue from Indiana 63 to Durkees Ferry Road.

—Repave Watson Place in Krislynn Woods subdivision.

—Chaffe Road from Battlerow Place to Harlan Drive.

—Roads along Green Valley Mine Pond/Public Fishing Area between Concannon Avenue to Thralls Avenue.

INDOT

The Indiana Department of Transportation will also soon start road projects. Here are some projects slated to start in the spring in the Wabash Valley.

Vigo County

—On or after March 31, nightly restrictions will start on Interstate 70 eastbound and westbound for a bridge rehabilitation project over Darwin Road, replacing bridge superstructure, about 3.44 miles west of U.S. 41. Darwin Road will be closed for up to 120 days. Single lane closure with rolling slowdowns possible on I-70. Potential for temporary lighting for eastbound ramp. Routing traffic off I-70 and back on through temporary signals and ramps.

The official detour for Darwin Road follows South Robinson Place to West Illiana Drive to West National Ave. INDOT awarded a contract for this work to Rieth Riley Construction for $2.7 million. The entire contract is expected to be completed in early October.

—Pavement rehabilitation/repair project on various roads at Rockville Correctional Facility.

Clay County

—Bridge cleaning project on S.R. 59, about 2.11 miles north of Indiana 246 over Conneley Ditch.

—Small culvert replacement project on Indiana 42, about 0.69 miles east of Indiana 59. Road will be closed for at least 30 days. Starting in mid/late July.

Parke County

—Hot mix asphalt overlay and preventative maintenance project on U.S. 41 to 2.56 miles south of Indiana 59. The paving will have a road flaggers on site for traffic control.

Vermillion County

—Bridge cleaning project on U.S. 36 over the Wabash River, about 1.79 miles east of Indiana 63, also with road flagging for traffic control.

—A moving flagging operation on Indiana 47 was slated to start March 22, near Turkey Run State Park. This is for a road resurfacing project. These restrictions will be between U.S. 41 and about 2.5 miles west of Indiana 59, through the beginning of June, weather permitting.

These restrictions will move as crews progress. Flaggers will be out directing traffic.

Sullivan County

—Indiana 159 for a bridge thin deck overlay. The bridge is located over Pond Creek, about 2.6 miles south of Indiana 54.

—Indiana 58 for a bridge superstructure replacement. The bridge is over Turtle Creek, about 2.8 miles east of Indiana 63.

Howard Greninger can be reached at 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter @TribStarHoward.