HANCOCK COUNTY — State and local departments have poured millions of dollars this summer into Hancock County roads and bridges, paving the way for smoother rides in the years to come.
The Greenfield Street Department wrapped up its road resurfacing program last week, while the Hancock County Highway Department plans to finish road and bridge work by the end of September.
Construction of one of the largest and most expensive projects in the county, the bridge over Interstate 70 at Fortville Pike, is on track to finish no later than early November, said Indiana Department of Transportation spokesperson LaMar Holliday. The bridge replacement will cost INDOT $2.3 million.
Crews installed bridge beams above the westbound lanes of the interstate in mid August. Holliday said beams over the eastbound lanes are scheduled to be installed during the second week of September.
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Greenfield
The City of Greenfield invested $630,000 of work this year to resurface just over 6 miles of roads, said Tyler Rankins, street commissioner. The cost combines money from the city’s coffers as well as state funding worth $281,600 from Indiana’s Community Crossings grant.
Some of the higher traffic thoroughfares in Greenfield — Apple Street, Blue Road and Meridian Road — were all milled down and repaved, Rankins said. The street department paved 17 other roads, too, including sections of McKenzie Road and Osage Street.
Rankins said the amount of road work has increased over the past two years when the state first started awarding Community Crossings grants. The city has received about $1.1 million in grant funding since 2016, he said. In that time period, the city also has invested $1.4 million in streets.
“It is working. I think people are starting to notice all the paving we’re doing,” Rankins said. “We just hope that it keeps up and the Community Crossings grant goes for many years.”
Hancock County
Hancock County Engineer Gary Pool said as of last Wednesday morning, the county was 17 percent finished with its summer road and bridge construction. The county planned to treat 146 miles of roads, with portions being paved, chip sealed and crack sealed, Pool said.
The county’s road program for this year is slated to cost $3.4 million, Pool said, and the highway department has spent $2.9 million to date. Pool said since the state implemented Community Crossings grants, the county has been able to tackle more roads with chip sealing and paving. The county used to spend about $400,000 a year on filling potholes. Now, they’ve reduced that to $50,000 a year.
The majority of Community Crossings grant funding is spent on road maintenance, Pool said. In 2017, the county received $627,236 from the state and they expect to get more grant funding this year. Community Crossings applications are due to INDOT by the end of September.
While most of this summer’s construction has been for roads, the county also plans to invest $2.2 million in bridge work, Pool said. The highway department is currently working on two bridges along County Road 100S, one over Sugar Creek and a second across Brandywine Creek.
The costs of both bridges have come in under budget, Pool said, saving the county about $420,000. The Sugar Creek bridge, which was expected to cost $900,000, is halfway complete and will cost $770,000. The Brandywine bridge’s price also shifted from $750,000 to $460,000, Pool said.
August’s frequent rain storms have delayed some of the county’s road and bridge work, Pool said, which has resulted in an end of the September tentative finish date. Pool said drivers should remain careful around construction zones and can reach out to the department about any road issues.
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Construction on the Fortville Pike bridge over Interstate 70 is slated to wrap up by early November, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. Until then, drivers can continue using the following detours:
– Those traveling north on Fortville Pike can use State Road 9 as a detour. Take County Road 200N east toward State Road 9 and turn west on County Road 300N toward Fortville Pike.
– Drivers traveling south on Fortville Pike should take County Road 300N east to State Road 9 and turn west on County Road 200N.
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