County Gives Nod To Proposed Bypass

Today the Kosciusko County Commissioners gave tentative final approval for the Western Alternative Route Corridor.

Commissioner Ron Truex said their vote today was their proposal of where they believe the Ind. 15 bypass should go after reviewing all the public comments and information. The commissioners will take a final vote on the proposal at their July 27 meeting after The Troyer Group reviews the commissioners' proposal for any possible hurdles.

"This is not final until we find out if it can be done, but this is our recommendation," Truex said.

The corridor begins near CR 400S and travels southwest of Goose Lake to approximately CR 300W, give or take a quarter of a mile. The proposed corridor then would travel north and cross U.S. 30 at the closed rest park. In the area of CRs 450N to 600N, it then would travel east to Ind. 15. As many back property fence lines as possible would be used. The proposed corridor then goes north on Ind. 15, but turns west before going through Milford. Truex said the last part of the bypass will be "quite a ways down the road time-wise" and the corridor is painted with "a very broad brush."

"A lot of thought has gone into this, so it's time to move on," said Avis Gunter, commissioner.

As a safety issue for the City-County Athletic Complex, Truex said they hope to have a bridge over the CSX Railroad tracks before Old Road 30 and possibly a bridge over Old Road 30.

After the meeting, Steve J. Benczik, project manager for The Troyer Group, the engineers for the study, said the bridge over Old Road 30 could be approximately 30 feet high.

Kosciusko County commissioners are Brad Jackson, northern district; Ron Truex, middle district; and Avis Gunter, southern district. They meet at 9 a.m. in the county courthouse, Warsaw, every other Tuesday.