Broadway Street in Fortville, shown in this rendering at its intersection with Maple Street, is going from a four-lane road to two with a center left-turn lane. Maple Street at the intersection is also getting dedicated left-turn lanes to alleviate the traffic congestion that often occurs there.
Submitted image
FORTVILLE – Work is slated to begin later this month on reconstruction and changes to a town thoroughfare.
The project calls for reconstructing Broadway between Garden Street and Madison Street, or Ind. 13. Broadway’s existing surface in that area will be removed and replaced with 4 inches of compacted aggregate and 13 inches of hot mix asphalt.
The project will reduce the number of through travel lanes from four to an 11-foot-wide lane in each direction along with a 14-foot-wide center two-way turn lane. New curbs and gutters as well as drainage improvements are part of the job as well.
There will also be a paved multi-use path 10 to 13 feet wide on the north side of Broadway with amenities like decorative lighting, benches, bike racks and trash receptacles. Ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act will also be installed at street crossings.
A 6-foot-wide concrete sidewalk will span along Broadway’s south side from just east of Garden Street to Elm Street.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is sponsoring the project, estimated at over $8.3 million, with funding from the Federal Highway Administration along with state and local sources.
Indianapolis-based Milestone Contractors is leading the project. Grant Abbot, project manager with the firm, said in a meeting with Fortville business owners this week that construction is planned to start April 24.
Work will begin on phase 1a on the southwest end of the project area – between near Garden Street and near Merrill Street. Only southwest-bound traffic will be permitted on Broadway in the area, while northeast traffic will be detoured.
Starting around mid-July, work is anticipated to begin on phase 1b between Merrill Street and Ind. 13. That should conclude around mid-November, Abbott said. Again, only southwest-bound traffic will be permitted.
Access to businesses on the south side of Broadway will be maintained.
“Any businesses that are on this south side of the road during that – we will maintain access to, whether it’s through a side street entrance or a temporary stone driveway that we can put in,” Abbott said.
Also part of phase 1b are intersection improvements at Maple Street and Broadway.
Maple Street currently has a northbound and southbound lane with no left-turn lanes at its approaches to Broadway. Left turns onto Broadway reduce Maple Street’s capacity, causing traffic signal failure and vehicle queue lengths of 800 to 1,000 feet.
To improve that, Maple Street will be widened to accommodate a 10-foot-wide travel lane in each direction and a 10-foot-wide left-turn lane at each approach.
The existing 8-foot-wide parking lane at the southwest quadrant of the intersection will be maintained.
The intersection’s existing signal and equipment will be replaced as well.
Both sides of Maple Street will get 6-foot-wide concrete sidewalks from High Street to over 200 feet north of Broadway. New ADA curb ramps will be added at the northeast and southeast corners of Maple and High Streets.
Around February of next year, work will flip to the other side of Broadway, but traffic will be able to be maintained in both directions.
“There won’t be any traffic interruptions during that phase of the construction,” Abbott said. “The north side of the road will be closed, but we will make sure, again, that temporary driveways are installed and access is still maintained to all the businesses during that.”
Work is anticipated to run 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. five to six days a week.
