NEW PALESTINE — U.S. 52 in the middle of town is a prime example of a dangerous road, county highway officials say.
With so many side streets, driveways and the main entrance to New Palestine High School intersecting it, drivers, bike riders and walkers are at serious risk.
Gary Pool, chief engineer for the county’s highway department, is working to alleviate the dangers, which school and town officials have complained about repeatedly. Plans are under way to create a bypass road off County Road 500W south of U.S. 52.
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The road, Pool said, would help route some traffic off the road during peak hours, especially before and after school.
“This is what a dangerous road looks like,” Pool said while looking at a map of U.S. 52 through New Palestine. “You’ve got kids trying to cross the road, cars trying to cross the road while at the same time you’ve got high-speed traffic coming through, and it’s never going to be fixed, so the best we can do is try to get people away from it.”
A traffic study by county officials shows an average daily vehicle count of 12,078 on U.S. 52 in the town. Officials recorded 147 property damage accidents; 44 crashes involving injury; and two crashes resulting in fatal or incapacitating injuries from 2016 through 2018.
There is a direct correlation between all the access points and the crashes, Pool said. A driver, even at slower speeds, can’t process all the spots from which a vehicle, a cyclist or a pedestrian might emerge, he said.
County Commissioner Brad Armstrong, who is in his final year of office, said he’s been talking with other county officials about adding some kind of new road and was pleased to learn of Pool’s plans.
“I just think it will make things a lot safer for the kids leaving the school,” Armstrong said.
The new road, if approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation, is estimated to cost about $750,000. The state would pay for 80 percent of the project, and the county would pick up the rest of the cost.
The half-mile road will be an extension of West Stinemyer Road from County Road 550W, where it stops, to County Road 500W.
Although a couple of plans are under consideration for the connector road, one proposed route has it going in just south of the Southern Hancock school district bus garage on County Road 500W. The road would cut through town-owned land that has been earmarked for an expansion of New Palestine Cemetery to link to County Road 550W. This route doesn’t directly connect to Stinemyer Road, but it does give access to the road and County Road 600W.
The town currently owns half of the land where they’re considering putting in the road. The rest would have to be acquired.
“With New Palestine having half that property that would reduce the cost and they need to access that new cemetery anyway,” Armstrong said.
However, Pool said they could just extend the existing Stinemyer Road straight through to County Road 500W, but if they go that route, they’ll have to purchase more land.
Either way, town officials seem to be pleased with the prospect of a bypass.
“I think this is a fantastic idea,” New Palestine council member Bill Niemier said.
Pool presented the road project to the council last week. The council gave him a letter indicating it supports the project.
Officials with Southern Hancock schools also favor a bypass. They’re already exploring ways to help alleviate traffic issues on County Road 500W and U.S. 52 via the renovation project at New Palestine High School.
“Our main goal is to separate bus traffic, student traffic, and parent car-line traffic from each other when they come to the NPHS campus,” said Wes Anderson, district community relations director.
The county’s road project, Anderson said, would help lessen traffic on Gem Road and on U.S. 52 during peak school traffic times.
“It will be a huge asset to our families who live in neighborhoods south of U.S. 52 and west of NPHS,” Anderson said.
Once the renovation project is complete at the high school, they hope to be able to use the U.S. 52 entrance to NPHS for bus traffic only.
District officials are also exploring the possibility of creating another way in and out of high school to the east of the building on County Road 450W. They’re actively working to create as many entrances and exits to campus as possible. An additional entrance/exit onto 450W would also help traffic issues. Student parking will eventually be on the southeast corner of NPHS, making it easier for student drivers to enter and exit the campus. That’s a main priority in the renovation project, Anderson said.
While the county road project would not be undertaken until 2025, Pool said, his department has to think about the area’s growth over the next 20 to 50 years. People living south of U.S. 52 must have an alternate route to get to the school campus without having to use U.S. 52.
The town is set to get an intersection expansion at U.S. 52 and County Road 500W this spring and summer. While that will make the town’s busiest intersection safer, it won’t do anything to alleviate traffic and congestion, Pool said.
While Pool has already submitted the road project to INDOT and gone through an interview process he said went well, he’s encouraging area residents to reach out to state Rep. Bob Cherry and Sen. Mike Crider, as well as send letters to INDOT officials in Greenfield in support of the project.
County officials said they hope to know by late March if INDOT has approved the bypass project.
