Officials with the town of New Palestine say they’ll be getting a blister on U.S. 52 and CR 550W after all. The blister could be installed as soon as August. It’s been a dangerous area for drivers.
NEW PALESTINE — Now that new handicap curb work is completed and the repaving of U.S. 52 through town is nearly done, a side project will finally get some attention from state officials, local officials say.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has road work this summer through Southern Hancock — part of an estimated $21 million overall road improvement project going through Shelby, Hancock and Marion Counties. Now, a slight addition to a busy turn area will also be installed.
Several years ago, officials with the Town of New Palestine asked INDOT to add at least one “blister” area along U.S. 52 and CR 550W so cars heading west can get around vehicles stopped on U.S. 52 trying to turn south onto CR 550W.
While at the time state officials noted they liked the idea of adding a blister or two along U.S. 52, nothing was planned to be part of the current $21 million project being done by INDOT. However, town officials informed the council during the most recent meeting that they received word at least one “blister” will be added, perhaps as soon as August.
“The project was actually scheduled out for a couple of years from now, but the contractor told INDOT realistically for someone to come back and add a 1,500-foot blister on the side of the road would probably cost a contractor four times the money, so they might as well get it done while they’re here,” town manager Jim Robinson said.
Plans are as soon as INDOT workers are finished with the new roundabout at Ind. 9 and U.S. 52, they’ll bring in some dirt crews and start getting the area on U.S. 52 and CR 550W ready for the blister.
“That was the safety part we wanted in town,” Robinson said. “I know what they’ve done is all good and looks great with the bells and whistles now that it is all striped, but it doesn’t address the safety issues which we had concerns about.”
Officials in New Palestine and the county government have for years stated something needs to be done on along U.S. 52 to remedy the congestion and lack of turn lanes at county roads 550W, 650W and in front of the library, 5731 West U.S. 52.
Steve Pool, New Palestine street supervisor, is on record saying he wanted to see bypass lanes installed in several places along U.S. 52 to give drivers a place to go around cars that have stopped to make left turns off of U.S. 52.
Pool felt adding bypass lanes would stop all the backups and people slamming on their brakes, which happens daily along U.S. 52.
Still, he was pleased to talk about the blister being added and noted all INDOT needs to do to at least install the one blister at CR 550W is move one utility pole back off the road.
“We’ll see how the utilities go,” Pool said, noting that can often hinder or slow projects.
Officials with New Palestine have been talking with INDOT since well before 2021, alerting them to the fact something needs to be done sooner rather than later to make U.S. 52, which is two lanes through New Palestine, much safer.
While it’s just one blister, it is a start, officials say. However, since INDOT is in the midst of their current three-county, $21 million project along U.S. 52, officials are not sure when they’ll get back around to addressing the other congestion areas on the road in the near future.
Robinson is on record saying the town experiences a great deal of bottleneck traffic along U.S. 52 and, with the massive growth in the area, he noted it’s only going to get worse.
