Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer encouraged county leaders this morning to start planning for the development of U.S. 30 down the road. Thallemer was one of about 30 business and community leaders who attended a meeting in Warsaw last week with Dennis Faulkenberg, APPIAN Advisors president, to discuss the Indiana Department of Transportation’s plans for the highway through eight northern Indiana counties. Faulkenberg also directed the U.S. 31 Coalition, which oversaw the development of the route between Indianapolis and South Bend. “The take-home message was, we have to be prepared when INDOT is ready to make a move,” Thallemer told county commissioners during their meeting this morning. “It may be a few years down the road, but we have to have a plan in place so we don’t have to take their plan.” Faulkenberg has been holding similar talks along the route in recent months and was invited to Warsaw by OrthoWorx. He said in an interview after the meeting that U.S. 30 has been identified by INDOT as a priority project, with the possibility of converting the existing four-lane highway into a freeway with interchanges at major intersections. U.S. 30 was prioritized for its high volume of traffic, one-third of which is semi trucks, and could see explosive growth if developed into a freeway, Faulkenberg said. INDOT has identified 550 points along the route that will need to be addressed, including stoplights, driveways and railroad crossings. Porter County has the most, at 173, while Kosciusko has 75, comparable to Whitley County. “What we tell communities like Kosciusko and Warsaw is you have to decide what you want and need, and to be prepared to go to INDOT after some local planning,” such as where they want interchanges, he said. “You have to decide locally before INDOT tells you – you have to get ahead of the game.” Also this morning, commissioners recognized Mike Minnick Sr. as the Veteran of the Month. The 22-year veteran of the Navy and Indiana National Guard had served two tours in Vietnam, in Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 58, where he said he built everything from two-hole toilets to major runways and hospitals. He said it was a tremendous honor to receive the award. “We like to think we’ve done all we could do to serve the country, and be rewarded with that thought. But when you get something like this, it means so much more,” he said. Minnick lives in Milford with his wife, Loretta. They have five children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. And county Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden oversaw the opening of several dozen bids for highway supplies and materials for 2015, ranging from gravel and fuel to guard rails and bridge decking. He will have recommendations for commissioners during the Nov. 18 meeting.
