The first of four planned public meetings for the Western Alternate Route Project brought out an estimated 100 people Wednesday.

The purpose of the one-hour, 15-minute kick-off meeting was to introduce the project and to receive public input and information.

Middle district county commissioner Ron Truex opened the meeting and introduced members of the corridor study advisory committee before handing the meeting off to client service leader and senior civil engineer for The Troyer Group, Steve J. Benczik.

Benczik said to make the process for the project work, the needs of all those affected by the project have to be balanced. The object of the meetings is to let the public have a say on the project. The boundaries of the corridor study, he said, include Ind. 15, as far west as CR 500W and as far south as CR 450S.

He then gave a history of the project.

In 1995-96, funds were set aside for a CR 350W corridor but the project was not acted on. For several years, the county has had federal funds for such work. Kosciusko County Highway Superintendent and Engineer Rob Ladson discovered the money was there in late 2000.

Under the original idea for the project, with the money, the county could upgrade CR 350W; build a new road and bridge from Old 30 to Park Schramm Road over Tippecanoe River; and put in a new road from Park Schramm Road to Crystal Lake Road, including an overpass for the railroad.

In December, the commissioners voted to proceed with the project "in all three phases and with the use of federal aid." The aid will cover 80 percent of the construction costs but none of the engineering and right of way acquisition costs. If federal aid funds are used, federal guidelines must be followed.

However, it is undetermined which route the Western Route Project will take at this time. Part of the corridor study is to determine the best route for the project, and there is opposition to making CR 350W part of the western route. The Troyer Group will look at alternatives for the project including the alternative of doing nothing, Benczik said.

The corridor study process is broken into nine steps, he said, including establishing a work plan, researching existing conditions of the county's transportation system, documenting existing and projected environmental and land use conditions, analyzing future travel demand, reviewing the corridor boundary, generating alternatives, identifying feasibility of the alternatives, analyzing the feasible alternatives to generate preferred alternatives and preparing the corridor plan document.

As for analyzing future traffic demands, Benczik said, "We have to forecast trends and traffic" and identify the deficiencies in the system. According to Benczik, improvement of Ind. 15 is in the Indiana Department of Transportation's 25-year plan.

By the time the corridor plan document is ready, Benczik said, a plan should be ready that meets with most people's approval.

The corridor study will include many advisory board committee meetings, several meetings with INDOT and three more public meetings.

"We're not presenting any alternatives here tonight. There's no lines on the map, no routes planned at this time," he said.

The next public meeting, he said, will establish a purpose and need for the project. The third public meeting will review alternatives and a recommended alternative will be presented at the fourth public meeting.

It will be after the third meeting, Benczik said, that "we'll probably have some lines on a map that we're thinking about."

Joe DeFronzo, The Troyer Group, told the crowd a traffic count of the roads is being conducted. The traffic count will include trucks.

Warsaw City Planner Jeff Noffsinger and Kosciusko County Area Plan Director Dan Richard spoke about the need to look at zoning and land use issues during the planning of the corridor.

"This is one of the few times I think we're taking an initiative to get ahead of the game," said Richard. He challenged the crowd to stick with the process.

The meeting was then opened to the public for comments.

Chris Garza, a member of the advisory committee and a CR 350W resident, said she has a list of concerns that deal with property values and safety.

Other area residents said their concern is the amount of traffic and they asked the committee to make sure they get a complete and accurate traffic count.

Hodge Patel, regional director for Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, said, "The senator does have an interest in this project."

Richard Krebs, resident, said he wants to see an elevated bypass. "If we're going to have a bypass, let's bypass it," he said.

He also suggested information regarding the corridor and study be put on the Internet. Benczik replied they are working on getting the information on the Internet.

Truex closed the meeting by saying, "We're not trying to do something fast."

Safety is a concern, he said, and regardless of what route the end project takes, "it's going to be in someone's front yard or back yard."

Members of the corridor study advisory committee are: county councilman Larry Teghtmeyer, Benczik, Garza, Harrison Township Trustee-Assessor Jim Moyer, R.R. Donnelley representative Bill Beatty, Mike Lewis of Lewis Salvage, Cary Groninger of G & G Hauling & Excavating Inc., Della Swain representing Warsaw School Corp., Richard, Warsaw city councilwoman Trish Brown, Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine, John Leckie, chamber of commerce director Joy McCarthy-Sessing, Warsaw Fire Chief Matt Warren, Noffsinger, Ladson and Truex. [[In-content Ad]]