Indiana Notes

[Life in Paradise]

When I was growing up, Indiana's sales tax was 4%.  It has slowly inched up to 7% plus in some areas there is a food/entertainment tax of a percent, so sales tax on those items is 8%, so obviously the state has split several times.

FAB is 2% in Marion County for a total of 9%.

Didn't realize that Marion County was that high; I should have expected that, though.

1% is from the 80's to pay for the no-longer-existing Hoosier Dome/RCA Dome. The other 1% is to pay for Lucas Oil Stadium. They never repealed the original tax.

Evansville did the same thing with their 1% tax that was created in the 80s for building their new airport.  It was supposed to go away when it was paid off.  Somehow it always gets another purpose and is still in existence.

[ITB]

The official bid results of INDOT's May 7th regular letting were released earlier this month. Notable awards include:

• Contract R-35981-A
Added Travel Lanes, Kennedy Avenue, from Junction Avenue to North Oak Street, Lake County
$16,480,171.64, F. H. Paschen and S. N. Nielsen & Associates, Chicago, IL

• Contract R-46048-A
Pavement Patching, I-65, from 0.45 Mile South of US 30 to 0.62 Mile N of I-80, Lake County
$6,469,555.42, Superior Construction Co., Inc., Portage, IN

• Contract B-41455-A
Bridge Replacement, US 41, over Patoka River, 2.95 Miles N of SR 64, Gibson County
$10,621,674.73, Beaty Construction, Inc.,  Boggstown, IN

• Contract B-41844-A
New bridge/grade separation, Tipton Street over Norfork Southern Railroad, LaPorte County
$11,592,365.13, F. H. Paschen and S. N. Nielsen & Associates, Chicago, IL

• Contract B-41850-A
New bridge construction/grade separation, Kennedy Avenue, from 1.5 Miles N of US 30 to 4.4 Miles S of I-80, Lake County
$17,446,034.09, F. H. Paschen and S. N. Nielsen & Associates, Chicago, IL

• Contract B-43636-A
Bridge and road replacement, US 20, over Kennedy Avenue and IHB RR, 0.99 Mile E of SR 152, Lake County
$12,187,142.42, Superior Construction Co., Inc., Portage, IN

• Contract B-43793-A
Bridge Replacement, SR 32, over Mill Creek 3.7 Miles west of SR 47, Montgomery County
$5,569,000.00, William Charles Construction Co., LLC, Rockford, IL

• Contract T-42653-A
Install Lighting, I-64, various locations/counties
$9,325,361.00, Ragle, Inc., Newburgh, IN

• Contract B-42231-B
Replace superstructure/bridge deck overlay, SR 46, over Jack's Defeat Creek, 6.04 Miles west of SR 37, Monroe County
$4,050,000.00, E & B Paving, Inc., Anderson, IN

[ITB]

In other letting news, the bid results of INDOT's special May 14th letting are now official. Of the three contracts let, the most significant was Contract R-41079-A, which involves the upgrading of a segment of US 30 in Allen County.

Milestone Contractors, LP, was awarded the contract with a winning bid of $50,912,301.82.

The project will include the construction of a diverging diamond interchange at Flaugh Road; the removal of the traffic light at Kroemer Road and replacing with a median, allowing only RIRO access from US 30; constructing an overpass at O'Day Road and removing US 30 access; and closing the Stahlhut Road intersection at US 30. California Road also will be improved with roundabouts at Flaugh Road and Kroemer Road.

This is the first of likely many projects to upgrade US 30 between the Indiana/Ohio state line and the city of Valparaiso during the next 10-15 years.