INDOT Announces U.S. 30 & 31 PEL Studies Launch
August 26, 2022 at 10:01 p.m.
INDOT Announces U.S. 30 & 31 PEL Studies Launch
By David [email protected]
Friday morning, INDOT hosted a virtual media briefing to announce the new planning studies for U.S. 30 from Valparaiso to the Indiana/Ohio state line, excluding the Fort Wayne bypass, and U.S. 31 between Hamilton County and Plymouth, excluding the Kokomo bypass.
Counties included in the planning and environment linkages (PEL) studies are Allen, Fulton, Hamilton, Howard, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall, Miami, Porter, Starke, Tipton and Whitley.
Natalie Garrett, strategic communications director for INDOT, said, “As part of INDOT’s commitment to enhancing safety, mobility and economic development in Indiana, we’re launching two planning environmental linkages studies, ProPEL30 and ProPEL31. These studies are an important first step in identifying critical needs, environmental concerns and potential solutions for the 180-miles study area along U.S. 30 and U.S. 31.”
She said they will be gathering public input and understanding community needs. “That will be vital to the process of identifying solutions along both corridors,” she said. “We’re interested in input from all stakeholders, not just those who live along the corridor but those who use the corridor to get to work, to visit family, travel, shop and deliver goods and services.”
The PEL process is used by transportation agencies to make and document planning decisions, Garrett said.
“It’s a little bit different from other studies in the way that it allows INDOT to better understand community needs and develop alternatives to meet those needs,” she said. “It involves a more in-depth public involvement process.”
Throughout the process, INDOT will use a variety of platforms to gather community input, she said. INDOT will use the information collected during the development of future projects specific to U.S. 30 and 31.
At the end of the study, INDOT will identify a range of alternatives, which will be analyzed and proceed through the project development process, Garrett explained.
The PEL studies will be data-driven and focused on identifying long-term transportation needs, community needs and solutions to those needs, she continued. “We’ll be defining and analyzing alternatives that consider public and agency input, in addition to taking into consideration engineering, environmental and economic factors as we move forward in the process,” she said.
Garrett then showed a map during the virtual media briefing of the study areas.
“You can see that each corridor is divided into two study areas. So on U.S. 30 we have east and west, and on U.S. 31 we have north and south. This allows us to collect more specified community input by separating them into smaller areas. Each study area will be closely coordinated to ensure that the improvements work together to maximize transportation benefits and also that identified alternatives would work together as part of the transportation system,” she explained.
What INDOT will be looking for throughout the study will be feedback from residents, motorists, businesses and other road users.
“That information is vital to the success of these studies. INDOT will seek input through both in-person and virtual public meetings, as well as online comment forms, social media, individual meetings. Members of the project team will be having sort of office-hours-type meeting options at specific locations along the corridors,” Garrett said.
Planned completion of the study is scheduled for fall 2024.
Garrett said there is a variety of ways for people to stay connected as the process moves forward. There is a project website for each of the studies and they were scheduled to go live by Friday afternoon. The website for U.S. 30 is at propelus30.com and for U.S. 31 it’s at propelus31.com. They will include maps, project information, an option to sign up for email notifications and updates and an online comment form prior to the first public meetings, which are scheduled for “later this fall,” she said.
Additionally, she said they will have social media platforms launching later this year where project information will be shared as well.
Asked what the cost of the study was and what prompted it, Sandra Flum, project manager for ProPELUS30, said the study was prompted by the U.S. 30 and U.S. 31 Coalitions.
“This is the kind of study that helps us look at those as corridors and help us make sure they work together. As Natalie said, it’s 180 miles of study and so it’s broken down into four segments. The segments will proceed at about the same time so they’ll all work together, Flum said.
She did not give a cost for the study.
Asked about specific dates and times for the public information meetings in Kosciusko County, Garrett said specific dates have not been set. The first round of those are scheduled for later this fall.
“We’ll be sending out email invitations to those, we’ll be posting on the website, social media, so the public can be aware of when those are planned and scheduled,” she said.
Project team member Tim Miller said it will all be a very transparent process for the next 24 months.
“So all the data that we gather will be publicly available on the website. Reports that we put together will be available on the website. And that final report will be available in the fall of 2024, with the recommended alternatives that would go on for further study,” he stated.
Friday morning, INDOT hosted a virtual media briefing to announce the new planning studies for U.S. 30 from Valparaiso to the Indiana/Ohio state line, excluding the Fort Wayne bypass, and U.S. 31 between Hamilton County and Plymouth, excluding the Kokomo bypass.
Counties included in the planning and environment linkages (PEL) studies are Allen, Fulton, Hamilton, Howard, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall, Miami, Porter, Starke, Tipton and Whitley.
Natalie Garrett, strategic communications director for INDOT, said, “As part of INDOT’s commitment to enhancing safety, mobility and economic development in Indiana, we’re launching two planning environmental linkages studies, ProPEL30 and ProPEL31. These studies are an important first step in identifying critical needs, environmental concerns and potential solutions for the 180-miles study area along U.S. 30 and U.S. 31.”
She said they will be gathering public input and understanding community needs. “That will be vital to the process of identifying solutions along both corridors,” she said. “We’re interested in input from all stakeholders, not just those who live along the corridor but those who use the corridor to get to work, to visit family, travel, shop and deliver goods and services.”
The PEL process is used by transportation agencies to make and document planning decisions, Garrett said.
“It’s a little bit different from other studies in the way that it allows INDOT to better understand community needs and develop alternatives to meet those needs,” she said. “It involves a more in-depth public involvement process.”
Throughout the process, INDOT will use a variety of platforms to gather community input, she said. INDOT will use the information collected during the development of future projects specific to U.S. 30 and 31.
At the end of the study, INDOT will identify a range of alternatives, which will be analyzed and proceed through the project development process, Garrett explained.
The PEL studies will be data-driven and focused on identifying long-term transportation needs, community needs and solutions to those needs, she continued. “We’ll be defining and analyzing alternatives that consider public and agency input, in addition to taking into consideration engineering, environmental and economic factors as we move forward in the process,” she said.
Garrett then showed a map during the virtual media briefing of the study areas.
“You can see that each corridor is divided into two study areas. So on U.S. 30 we have east and west, and on U.S. 31 we have north and south. This allows us to collect more specified community input by separating them into smaller areas. Each study area will be closely coordinated to ensure that the improvements work together to maximize transportation benefits and also that identified alternatives would work together as part of the transportation system,” she explained.
What INDOT will be looking for throughout the study will be feedback from residents, motorists, businesses and other road users.
“That information is vital to the success of these studies. INDOT will seek input through both in-person and virtual public meetings, as well as online comment forms, social media, individual meetings. Members of the project team will be having sort of office-hours-type meeting options at specific locations along the corridors,” Garrett said.
Planned completion of the study is scheduled for fall 2024.
Garrett said there is a variety of ways for people to stay connected as the process moves forward. There is a project website for each of the studies and they were scheduled to go live by Friday afternoon. The website for U.S. 30 is at propelus30.com and for U.S. 31 it’s at propelus31.com. They will include maps, project information, an option to sign up for email notifications and updates and an online comment form prior to the first public meetings, which are scheduled for “later this fall,” she said.
Additionally, she said they will have social media platforms launching later this year where project information will be shared as well.
Asked what the cost of the study was and what prompted it, Sandra Flum, project manager for ProPELUS30, said the study was prompted by the U.S. 30 and U.S. 31 Coalitions.
“This is the kind of study that helps us look at those as corridors and help us make sure they work together. As Natalie said, it’s 180 miles of study and so it’s broken down into four segments. The segments will proceed at about the same time so they’ll all work together, Flum said.
She did not give a cost for the study.
Asked about specific dates and times for the public information meetings in Kosciusko County, Garrett said specific dates have not been set. The first round of those are scheduled for later this fall.
“We’ll be sending out email invitations to those, we’ll be posting on the website, social media, so the public can be aware of when those are planned and scheduled,” she said.
Project team member Tim Miller said it will all be a very transparent process for the next 24 months.
“So all the data that we gather will be publicly available on the website. Reports that we put together will be available on the website. And that final report will be available in the fall of 2024, with the recommended alternatives that would go on for further study,” he stated.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092