South Bend/Elkhart Projects

[mukade]

I was in the South Bend and Elkhart areas and noticed these projects underway:

• SR 4 extension south of South Bend - being completely rebuilt from existing US 31 east to the new US 31 freeway
• SR 19 in Elkhart  - utilities are being moved to rebuild a stretch a couple of miles north of US 20
• SR 23 -from east of SR 331 to Granger is being rebuilt and widened
• SR 331 in Mishawaka- the final section just north of US 20 is being upgraded to divided highway. It will follow a new path just west of Elm Street.
• Existing US 31 bypass in South Bend - another overpass (I think Locust Rd.) is being replaced
• US 31 freeway south of South Bend - the grading is mostly done from just north of US 6 to existing US 31. See Google satellite map

. The section around US 6 is scheduled to be let in early 2012 and all of it should be under contract by the end of 2012.

• US 33 in Goshen - from US 20 south, approximatedly two miles are being rebuilt/widened

[hbelkins]

So, anyone in the area wanna organize a South Bend meet?

[NWI_Irish96]

I move out of the area and they finally do all the things I've been wanting for so long.  I guess I need to move back!

[juscuz410]

As a South Bend native, they have finally gotten it together. The city & Notre Dame are now working together. Building projects are getting paid off decades in advance. Old factories & dilapidated buildings are getting torn down & replaced with new nanotechnology facilities. Eddy Commons, a project of condos, restaurants & shops is a huge hit off of ND's campus. The Chase Tower, the city's tallest building is getting a facelift. There's a new hotel in the plans just south of Century Center (Convention Ctr). There are tax incentives for home remodels.

The city budget is currently sitting on a multi-billion dollar surplus. And finally South Bend was just named as an All-America City in 2011.

With all of the building of roads, highways & other projects...and rapidly it seems...Indiana has set the bar for the rest of the midwest.

[3467]

I agree indiana is the Midwest leader now Illinois has some construction going with the capital bill but not as much as Indiana. In fairness Iowa and Wisconsin did a lot of projects in the last decade. But I might add that those states did not do the amount of post Interstate construction that either Illinois and Indiana had done.Both Illinois and Indiana seem to have periods of a lot of constrcution follwed by many dry years. It has a lot to do with who is gov.

Anything on IN 19 south of 20. That was always a very busy strech

[mukade]

... It has a lot to do with who is gov.

Anything on IN 19 south of 20. That was always a very busy strech

Yes, Governor Daniels is why so much is going on in Indiana. When the Major Moves money is gone in 2015 or so, we'll see what happens.

I am not aware of any major work scheduled on SR 19 south of CR 26 (which is south of US 20). SR 15 will be widened for a stretch north of US 30-that is the closest one.

[sandwalk]

And when the Major Movies money is all gone, where exactly is Indiana going to get the money to pay for the maintenance of all of their new roads?  Was it a short-sighted deal or has there been a plan developed for future costs?

[tdindy88]

And when the Major Movies money is all gone, where exactly is Indiana going to get the money to pay for the maintenance of all of their new roads?  Was it a short-sighted deal or has there been a plan developed for future costs?

I would assume through traditional means. With Major Moves we have been able to do A WHOLE LOT of projects at one time rather than just a few. Once the money is gone, it will likely go back to that. There will still be some projects done here and there, there just won't be a ton of projects going on. The bigger question I've seen asked from others is how we will maintain all these new roads. INDOT will always have the funds to do some projects and maitenance, it just won't have as much as it has now with Major Moves.

[hbelkins]

And when the Major Movies money is all gone, where exactly is Indiana going to get the money to pay for the maintenance of all of their new roads?  Was it a short-sighted deal or has there been a plan developed for future costs?

A lot of the existing roads will probably be dropped from the state system and turned over to counties or cities, especially the old routes the new ones will replace, since Indiana has a statutory state highway mileage cap.

[mukade]

And when the Major Movies money is all gone, where exactly is Indiana going to get the money to pay for the maintenance of all of their new roads?  Was it a short-sighted deal or has there been a plan developed for future costs?

Major Moves money was to pay for big projects, not normal maintenance. As always, normal funding will pay for this. As a matter of fact, with so many new miles that mainly replaced old roads, maintenance requirements should be somewhat less for some time, I would think. Snow removal costs on wider roads would be a bit more right off the bat.

[mukade]

A lot of the existing roads will probably be dropped from the state system and turned over to counties or cities, especially the old routes the new ones will replace, since Indiana has a statutory state highway mileage cap.

This comes up a lot, but is  really not relevant, IMO. The statutory limit is 12,000 miles. The current number of miles is 11,000 according to INDOT. Only a small number of miles are being added to the system with Major Moves to the best of my knowledge: SR 4 extension, SR 931, SR 641, and part of I-69 are some. Most of Major Moves projects replace or repair existing highway mileage. All this is also offset by the continuing shedding of miles. For example, SR 238 (decommission), SR 431 (decommission), and US 40 reroute around Terre Haute. I don't think there is any danger of the state exceeding the statutory cap.

[NWI_Irish96]

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I was up that way this weekend and did check out some of the progress on the new US 31.  Southbound lanes have concrete from north of New Road to south of Pierce Road.  Overpasses seem mostly/entirely complete between Miller Road and 1st Road.