INDOT picks top 4 Allen County road projects

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has designated April 4 through 8 as Work Zone Safety Awareness Week and in doing so has put the spotlight on four major road projects motorists will encounter in Allen County.

1) SR 3/Lima Road, Allen County - The first two phases of this project (from Dupont Road to Wallen Road) were completed last year.

The year 2011 starts the next two phases from Wallen Road to Ludwig Road. The 2.88-mile project includes six lanes, raised center curb and a median separating opposing traffic. The traffic pattern for the next three months will include one lane for northbound traffic and one lane for southbound traffic, separated by a center left turn lane. Various closures and restrictions will be communicated as the project progresses. The anticipated completion date is October, 2011.

2) US 27/Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge, Allen County - INDOT is partnering with the City of Fort Wayne to fund this bridge replacement project. While INDOT’s portion of the bridge project centers on functionality, the City of Fort Wayne is funding the arch-steel truss-style to be a signature gateway. Motorists should expect various lane closures in this area until the scheduled completion date of December, 2011.

3) US 24/Fort to Port - The US 24/Fort to Port project continues to progress on schedule with an anticipated completion date of 2012. Notifications will be given to announce road closures in advance to actual closer dates. For more information on this project, visit the following Web site: http://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/us24/index.html

4) SR 1/Dupont Road - The project is a 1.8-mile added travel lanes project from I-69 to one quarter mile east of Tonkel Road. Work includes new concrete pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalks, and small structure replacement. The north half of the project was completed in 2010. Crews are now focusing their efforts on the south half with completion scheduled for August 2011.

On average four out of every five people killed in highway work zones are drivers or passengers, not highway workers, so INDOT is joining with traffic safety personnel nationwide to stress “Safer Driving. Safer Work Zones. For Everyone.” According to the latest Indiana Crash Facts publication, 12 people were killed and 602 people were injured in work zone crashes during 2010.