The intersection of U.S. 52 and CR 550W will get a westbound left-turn lane installed this summer. Town officials had lobbied for the improvement earlier this year.
NEW PALESTINE — Turns out the squeaky wheel does get the oil, or at least one new turn lane in this case.
Officials with the town of New Palestine learned recently they will get a turn lane installed after all at County Road 550W along U.S. 52 as part of an $8 million resurfacing project slated for next year.
Town officials met with representatives from the Indiana Department of Transportation in early summer to lobby for major improvements to U.S. 52, including widening and adding turn lanes, to make the road safer. INDOT already had committed to the resurfacing project but told town leaders their wish list was well beyond the scope of that work.
Town officials left the meeting unsure what, if anything, would happen. However, they received word late last week that at least one turn lane would be installed in the summer of 2022 in a spot town officials consider dangerous.
In a letter to town officials, INDOT agreed the need for the turn lane is clear. Data gathered during a traffic study of U.S. 52 and CR 550W from 2018 to 2020 indicated there had been seven major traffic collisions, with three resulting in a fatality or incapacitation.
“The purpose of the project is to reduce vehicle conflict opportunities at the U.S. 52 and CR 550W intersection,” the letter stated.
Town manager Jim Robinson said INDOT’s decision is unusual. The state transportation department plans projects five to seven years in advance, so approving a change in a work order so close to the start of a major project is something of a surprise.
“A lot of that is due to financing, because those funds are allocated for projects years in advance,” Robinson said.
Robinson thinks the summertime meeting had a positive impact.
“We left that meeting kind of down, but we knew we were on their radar,” Robinson said. “They said some other projects were shuffled around and ours was moved up and became a priority, and we are pleased.”
The project will include the addition of a 12-foot-wide left turn lane in the westbound lane of U.S. 52 and will require the acquisition of slightly more than 0.5 acres of additional right-of-way.
Construction is anticipated to start July 2022 and will restrict traffic to one lane during the work.
Town officials had also asked INDOT to look at the intersection of U.S. 52 and 650W and adding a blister or turn lane in front of the library, but Robinson noted 550W really is where drivers needed to be protected most.
“U.S. 52, where it meets with County Road 550W, is where you’re just starting to leave town and you have accelerated and people run into a sudden stop with a driver trying to turn left,” Robinson said.
In the end, Robinson noted, it just made good sense for INDOT to add the project since it already will be undertaking the resurfacing and other improvements — including adding improved handicap-accessible ramps — at cross streets in 2022.
“Maybe the traffic studies didn’t call for the addition of the turn lane right now, but when you live here and use that road every day, you know how badly that turn lane is needed there,” Robinson said.
