INDOT hosts public meeting on ProPEL US 31 study

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 10:34 AM

By Shelby Lopez

Several members from the ProPEL study team, INDOT and Federal Highway Administration met with curious community members Monday evening in the Rochester High School cafeteria for a study session on the project and potential ideas of infrastructure upgrades and improvements on U.S. 31.

Community members gathered in the Rochester High School cafeteria Monday, Nov. 18, for a public study session to learn more about the future construction plans for U.S. 31 in Fulton County.

Several members from the ProPEL study team, INDOT, and Federal Highway Administration provided the public with an overview of the Level 3 Screening Report for the massive highway project that has hopes of bringing infrastructure upgrades and improvements to 180 miles stretched across U.S. 30 and U.S. 31. The highway project set to improve U.S. 31 was first launched in 2022 by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Project study spokesperson Mindy Peterson said Monday's public study session in Rochester was not only meant to provide community members with as much information as possible about the project, but also to get the public's feedback on their options before plans moved ahead. Peterson said the current phase of the process is meant to be transparent and collaborative with the community. The team presented a range of alternatives for highway construction plans as a way to give locals options and a voice for the project's next step and its long-term future.

Six planning segments were identified in the study based on the natural grouping of intersections, county and INDOT district boundaries, and public input. Four packages were developed for each segment that all maintain existing free-flow conditions that vary in level of access and facility type. Each improvement package was at intersections the project team deemed to be primary and secondary intersections along with the roadway and the segments between them.

Craig Moore, traffic and safety lead for the project, explained that the evaluation for each decision made for future highway construction plans would be measured by safety, mobility, impacts and cost. Moore highlighted that the likelihood of crashes at a highway intersection could decrease if crossing conflict points across U.S. 31 were eliminated, particularly in moving across the highway turning left where drivers cross the path of main-line traffic.

Other public information meetings about the highway project are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 23 and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Rochester branch of the Fulton County Public Library.

No decisions have officially been made about the future of U.S. 31, nor have any projects yet been funded. Depending on multiple factors, including statewide priorities and funding availability, intersection treatments considered could also be combined in the future to address any identified transportation needs and support goals from the study. The Level 3 Screening Report will eventually be finalized, pending public and agency review, and advance to the last step in the ProPEL U.S. 31 North study. The team hopes to have the official study report in early 2025.

Check out the photo album below for pictures taken in the RHS cafeteria during Monday's study session. To learn more about the studies and provide feedback, visit propelus31.com or propelus30.com.