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Fort Wayne-area motorists can take a glimpse into the future of roads in the community.
The Northeast Regional Coordinating Council – the region’s transportation planning group – recently revised its long-term road plan for how the county’s roads should look in 20 years.
Although many government planning documents can be boring, this one should be of interest to readers of this column. It details plans to widen major corridors, build new roads, improve intersections, separate railroad elevations and more.
Other than showing a map, the plan also lists the schedule for each project, although the timetables are fairly general. Some will be done between 2010 and 2019, and some will be done between 2020 and 2030. This should make good reading for people interested in the future of local transportation.
The revised plan does offer some new projects for the area. For example, Paul Shaffer Drive will be extended from California Road to Clinton Street over the next decade; Crescent Avenue will be widened to six lanes between Sirlin Drive and Coliseum Boulevard over the next decade; and Bluffton Road will be widened from Winchester Road to Old Trail Road between 2020 and 2030.
The plan can be found online at www.nircc.com.
Q. Till Road between Coldwater and Lima roads is in deplorable condition. Are there any plans for repairs? – Liz Palmer
A. There are plans for improvements, Liz, but you will have to be patient.
Shan Gunawardena, city traffic engineer, said the section of Till is narrow because Becketts Run, which runs alongside the road, crosses wetlands. He said the city has installed pavement markings and delineators to better define the edge of the road for drivers.
He said City Utilities is looking at installing gabions where the stream runs close to the road to help stabilize the edge of the road. Gabions are cages filled with rocks. He said the utility is also looking at ways to improve the area, including relocating Becketts Run, but the project remains in the preliminary planning stage.
For the next year, drivers will have to deal with sporadic restrictions on the ramps at Interstate 69 and U.S. 20 in Steuben County.
The state awarded Primco Construction a $5.2 million project to do bridge work on U.S. 20. The work is expected to last until fall 2010, and the restrictions are most likely from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
This week’s bonus audio question comes from Anne Merritt, who asks about the intersection of McKinnie Avenue with Lafayette and Clinton streets. The segment originally aired Friday afternoon on WOWO.
