Governor cuts ribbon on SR 14 project

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Governor Mitch Daniels took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday morning to mark completion of the first phase of the State Road 14 widening project on the west side of Fort Wayne.

"I see in my mind's eye the jobs that may come as a result of this and other projects. Obviously a lot of people were put to work building this road, but the real goal long-term is a state with the best infrastructure," Daniels said.

The project was part of Governor Daniels’ Major Moves highway program, in which the state leased the toll road for $4 billion.

"The toll road transaction was not our goal. It was a means to an end. The goal was how do we build roads like 14 and 24 and hundreds of other roads and bridges that Indiana needs. When we looked at all the options, it was the most promising, and maybe the only one. It was a spectacular success," Daniels said.

The improvements made the road between Hadley and Scott Roads five lanes with a bi-directional center turn lane, added a new storm sewer, new curbs and gutters, and multi-purpose trails, as well as improved signs, lighting, and markings.

Governor Daniels was joined by Senators David Long and Tom Wyss, along with other local officials at a ceremony just east of the Scott Road and SR 14 intersection Wednesday morning.

"This road was strained with traffic. It was choked. During rush hour, you could go back a mile with traffic in single file all trying to get out to I-69," Long said.

Long had been trying to get the road expanded for years but there were always issues with getting funding. He said the project might not have happened without the Major Moves money.

"There are projects all over the state like this getting funded that had been delayed decades because there was no money," Long said. "We put a shot in the arm of transportation in Indiana for the next century doing what we're doing due to the many projects funded by Major Moves."

Aboite New Trails also worked to get new sidewalks and trails incorporated into the expansion project.

"They are being used every minute of every day by people going to the store, going to school or just going to a friend's house," Lori Keys, executive director of Aboite New Trails, said. "Even people driving by appreciate the vibrancy of seeing people out enjoying themselves biking and walking."

The expansion project did hit a setback when peat soil made part of the highway sink.

"INDOT did have a plan to address the peat situation," Jim Keefer, the district construction director for the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Fort Wayne District, said. "Unfortunately it wasn't sufficient. You can try to anticipate what will happen, but until you start to get into it, you don't always know what you're going to have."

Crews put dozens of steel plates into the ground to fix the problem.

"It added several million dollars above the cost of the bid project and there was time needed to do that, but because of how the rest of the contracts worked out, we were still able to get the job done by the original competition date," Keefer said.

The finished construction was just Phase One of the entire project. Phase Two will continue the expansion from two to five lanes and widen three bridges and rebuild two intersections on State Road 14 between Scott and West Hamilton Roads. Construction is expected to start on that phase next year.

"Housing developments continue to go to the west and there is still a lot of traffic out west and that's why we need to continue it out another couple of miles," Keefer said.