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Thursday, The Troyer Group will present their recommendation for the Western Alternative Route to the public.
And it may include alternatives the general public has not seen yet.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Justice Building meeting room, Warsaw.
Rob Ladson, Kosciusko County highway superintendent and engineer, said the public needs to understand the county commissioners will not act on the recommendation until June 29. Thursday's meeting is just The Troyer Group's presentation on their recommendation.
Thursday's agenda, Ladson said, will include a review of the routes, an explanation of any changes, presentation of the preferred route and public comments.
Ladson said he already received a letter opposing all routes, even before Thursday's meeting.
Steve Benczik, of The Troyer Group, said The Troyer Group will present their preferred route, discuss how they rated the various alternatives and what they looked at to make their determination. Maps of where the proposed route may go will be presented.
At and after the last public meeting, Benczik said, they were presented with recommendations for changes to the route and those were taken under advisement and some were incorporated.
Since the last public meeting on the Western Route Project, alternatives No. 2, 3 and 4 were moved more to the southwest to avoid the wetlands area near Devil's Backbone on Ind. 25.
Alternative No. 6 will be introduced Thursday. Under Alternative No. 6, the northern part of the route would start at the intersection of CR 400N and Ind. 15 and go north toward Milford using the old interurban railroad line, east of Ind. 15. Then the route would go diagonally northwest to CR 200W (CR 17 in Elkhart County).
By following the abandoned railroad line, Benczik said, that will save the county from using farm land and going through homes.
"It makes a lot more sense to use that land," he said.
Another alternative to the project is Alternative No. 5. Under that option, the route starts near the intersection of Ind. 15 and CR 300S and goes northwest, parallel to the power lines, and then matches up with Alternative No. 2, which parallels CR 300W.
At the July 2003 public meeting, Alternative No. 2 was presented as beginning at the Ind. 15 and CR 400S intersection. After crossing Ind. 25, the route would follow the CR 300W alignment to U.S. 30 at the old rest area. Two new bridges crossing the CSX Railroad and Tippecanoe River and a new grade-separated interchange at U.S. 30 would need to be constructed. The existing at-grade intersections on U.S. 30 at CR 350W and Fox Farm Road would be eliminated due to the proximity of the new interchange. This route is approximately 8.4 miles from Ind. 15 to U.S. 30 and would continue north for another 12.3 miles to the Kosciusko/Elkhart county line, following either CR 200W or CR 300W.
Alternative No. 3 also begins at the Ind. 15 and CR 400S intersection and after crossing Ind. 25, follows CR 350W to U.S. 30 at the old rest area. Two new bridges, crossing the CSX Railroad and Tippecanoe River, and a new grade-separated interchange at U.S. 30 would need to be built. The existing at-grade intersections on U.S. 30 at CR 350W and Fox Farm Road would be eliminated due to the proximity of the new interchange. This route is approximately 8.3 miles from Ind. 15 to U.S. 30. Also included is the option for continuing north approximately 12.3 miles to the county line, including following CR 200W or CR 300W from U.S. 30.
Alternative No. 4 is still further west of alternatives Nos. 2 and 3 with additional changes. No. 4 begins at the Ind. 15/CR 400S intersection and after crossing Ind. 15, follows the CR 400W alignment to Old U.S. 30 and crosses CR 350W to U.S. 30 at the old rest area. One new bridge crossing both the CSX Railroad and Tippecanoe River and a new grade-separated interchange at U.S. 30 would need to be constructed. The existing at-grade intersections on U.S. 30 at CR 350W and Fox Farm Road would be eliminated. This alternative is about 9.2 miles from Ind. 15 to U.S. 30 and includes the CR 200W/CR 300W option for continuing another 12.3 miles north to the county line.
Sometime after Thursday's meeting, Benczik said, all the route information should be posted on the county's Web site at www.kcgov.com
