HANCOCK COUNTY — County Engineer Gary Pool presented a road maintenance map to the Hancock County Budget Committee on Wednesday morning that showed planned road maintenance projects for 2024.
Pool said that all the utilities are finished on the CR 600W project. The project, which involves the installation of roundabouts near McCordsville, should be complete this summer. Pool said that Mark Witsman, McCordsville engineer, would take over any projects once it is in the town limits.
For the second project along CR 600W, south toward New Palestine, Pool said that project will be almost identical to the project up north, and that there will be work on utilities, tree clearing and other miscellaneous items before starting the construction.
Pool said they would keep the area open with one-way traffic, something that seemed fairly popular, and then open up to two-way traffic as soon as they are able to — similar to how traffic was routed for the other CR 600W project.
With five roundabouts being completed now, Pool said there will be another one added at CR 300S and CR 600W in the future, which he says he is happy about because it is a high-accident intersection. Another roundabout will also be installed at Stinemyer Road and CR 600W. In McCordsville, Witsman is working on a roundabout at CR 750N and CR 600W.
Pool said that two bridge projects will begin once it starts to get warmer out and will be closed during their construction — Bridge 36, located on CR 700E between CR 400N and CR 500N, and then Bridge 95, located on CR 100S between CR 600E and CR 675E. Pool said that these projects will take approximately four months to complete.
During his environmental report, Pool said he did find freshwater mussels and big brown bats in the area and will have to look into relocating them in the future.
The road maintenance map shows where each road maintenance need is and what kind of fix the highway department is planning to do. With all projects set in 2024, there will be four different kinds — five if a pending grant is approved for micro-surfacing. The other kinds of fix that will be throughout the county are P=pavement; CS=sealcoat; DS=sealcoat with some paving; and SP/CS=half sealcoat, half paving.
According to the map, multiple areas throughout the county will receive sealcoat, with fewer areas receiving pavement and sealcoat with some paving.
If approved for the grant, Nashville Road will receive micro-surfacing, along with sections of CR 500W, CR 200W, CR 600E and smaller sections throughout the county.
“The only thing that’s pending is the micro-surface grant,” said Pool, mentioning he would have to check in on the status. “Try to make sure we get all the grants for that.”
Pool said while he submitted a grant for work to be done on Fortville Pike, it was rejected. However, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is pursuing a roundabout on Fortville Pike and Ind. 234.
For more information on road maintenance or updates on projects, visit hancockin.gov.
