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Construction on the Anchorage Road improvement and widening project is expected to start in early 2026.
In presenting pay application #47 from American Structurepoint for $840 for engineering work for the Anchorage Road Project, Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner told the Board of Public Works and Safety Thursday, “We’re hoping that this will bid in a couple months. Most likely construction time for next year. I think it will be too late in the fall for them to do much this year.”
He said there’s still a lot of utilities being moved along the road, but he hoped that would be done shortly, go to bid and start construction in early spring next year.
During the week of July 7, Anchorage Road will be closed during daytime working hours to all traffic between the Meijer and Aegis Dental Group entrances and the U.S. 30 intersection, Councilwoman Diane Quance reminded everyone. The road will be reopened to traffic each evening.
“So next week, the access to Anchorage Road from U.S. 30 will be closed during working hours every day next week,” city engineer Aaron Ott reiterated, adding he didn’t know their definition of “working hours” but it assumed it was 5 p.m. daily. “Similarly, on Monday and Tuesday, they’re going to have lane restrictions on 30 for a period of one to two hours. That’s the state’s business to accept, but it will cause some traffic concerns in town during that period of time.”
He said NIPSCO gas has to do some boring of some gas mains under U.S. 30 from Anchorage Road over to CR 200N for the Parkview development going on.
The project is an 80/20 Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT)-funded project, so the city pays 20% throughout the project and is reimbursed 80% for each phase.
The Board of Works approved the pay application.
Later in the meeting, Street Superintendent Dustin Dillon presented a contract with VS Engineering Inc. for the design of milling and repaving of portions of Parker Street, Husky Trail, Patterson Road and CR 75N, along with the creation of documents and bid packets for the department’s 2026 Community Crossings matching grant, which they will apply for in January. The amount of the contract with VS Engineering is $57,600.
“That area pavement, I believe, we put probably 2005-ish, so, again, this is a pavement preservation tool. We microsurfaced it in the past, but that area particularly sees an extreme heavy amount of traffic. Before we get into problems or issues with this upgrade, we want to do a surface treatment on that,” Dillon said.
Since it may be part of the 2026 Community Crossings matching grant, he said they’ve got to get the engineering done.
Quance pointed out it’s a 2026 project, not for this year. Dillon said that was right and they’re not going to do it while the county is doing its bridge project on Husky Trail. There will have to be a very detailed plan in place when it is done because of the high volume of traffic out there.
The board approved the contract. During the week of July 7, Anchorage Road will be closed during daytime working hours to all traffic between the Meijer and Aegis Dental Group entrances and the U.S. 30 intersection. The road will be reopened to traffic each evening, according to the city of Warsaw.
Additionally, on July 7 and 8, there will be intermittent lane restrictions for through traffic along U.S. 30 at the Anchorage Road intersection.
These closures and restrictions are to allow NIPSCO's gas contractor to complete underground infrastructure improvements. Motorists should expect delays and plan alternate routes. The posted detour to access Anchorage Road will be via Ind. 15.
In other business, the board approved:
• The closure of Canal Street, between the parking lot entrances, on Sept. 11 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. for the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony, as requested by Mike Cox, 9-11 Memorial Remembrance Committee member. The ceremony is scheduled for 6 to 8:30 p.m.
For the 25th anniversary of 9/11 in 2026, Cox told the board there will be a parade and they hope to bring in a display trailer from Tunnel To Towers. The display features a lot of memorabilia from Sept. 11, but there is a cost. Cox said they hope to start a fund drive to support that.
• Pay distribution #6 in the amount of $81,746.61, on behalf of the Building Corporation, to Rebar Warsaw LLC for construction concerning the Union Station Lofts, as requested by Skinner. He said that was the final dollars coming out of that bond account for that project.
“This was a bond issuance through the Redevelopment Commission Redevelopment Authority. The Redevelopment Authority gave you, the Board of Works, permission to approve those disbursements,” he explained.
Asked by Mayor Jeff Grose about a timeline when the mixed-used housing development might be done, Skinner said he thinks they’re hoping to open up leasing early next year, with final construction in late summer or early fall 2026.
• The final pay application and retainer for $19,019.34 to Milestone Contractors LP for the Center Lake pier demolition, as requested by Ott. He said the work is all completed and the city has accepted that work.
“With that, the total contract will have cost the city a total of $380,386.74, which is $17,451.26 below the original contract value. Good news when we can come in and close out a contract with some savings,” he stated.
Warsaw Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer told the Board they had an E. coli positive test at Pike Lake Tuesday. One person asked him how Center Lake was, and Plummer said it was fine.
“The comment back to me was maybe the pier removal helped, and I said absolutely. So, it’s a good thing,” Plummer said.
Quance said that means it’s time to start looking for money to remove the pier at Pike Lake beach.
• The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory to enter into a contract with Turner Valentine LLC for legal representation through Dec. 31, as requested by Fire Chief Joel Shilling. Adam Turner is taking over as the territory’s attorney from Jack Birch, of Birch Kaufman LLC, as Birch became the county public defender effective July 1. Birch transferred half of his retainer ($1,500) for 2025 to Turner. The WWFT Board approved the contract Tuesday.
• The travel requests and new hire/change in payroll report as presented by Human Resource Director Denny Harlan. One of the change in payroll items was the promotion of Angela Lundy to building inspector in the planning department, effective June 22. She will receive $28 per hour.
• A contract with GT Solutions for further leadership training with GT’s Vital Insight, as requested by Harlan. Cost is $10,950, which includes up to 25 seats in fall 2025 for $6,100 and up to 25 seats in spring 2026 for $4,850.
“Three years ago, we started a basic leadership program for the city employees. I’ve been looking for a way to get to that next evolution so that we can keep something going and keep it fresh in everybody’s mind,” Harlan said.
He reached out to Scott Green, who is GT Solutions, who is helping Harlan put together a second and third phase.
“The other part of his contract is that he is going to be available for any of our leaders to be able to call if they need somebody to talk to, and be able to keep that confidential. We do that for our employees, (who) have a program, our police and fire have a program for that. A lot of times our leaders don’t have anywhere to go, or anybody to talk to, so we want to make sure that they have somebody that they know they can call and keep it confidential as well,” Harlan explained.
• Pay app #6 for $3,501.25 to Wessler Engineering for professional services for the sanitary sewer and stormwater rehabilitation project that the wastewater utility has been doing this year, as presented by Superintendent Brian Davison.
• Pay app #2 for $105,089.19 to Insight Pipe Contracting LLC for the lining of the sanitary/sewer, as requested by Davison. He said it’s for the work they’ve completed to date.
• Pay app #1 for $57,250.23 to G & G Hauling & Excavating Inc. for the Timber Ridge phase 1 stormwater improvement project, as presented by Davison. He said there will be phases 2 and 3 in the coming years.
• An amendment to the current contract between the stormwater utility and AECOM to take phase 2 of the Timber Ridge and Deer Ridge projects to 90% design, which Davison said is a project they’re going to need to do early next spring on the heels of phase 1. It also gets phase 3 closer to a design. Amount is $181,157.
• The outdoor seating area in front of 112 W. Market St. for Downtown Candy Shop, as presented by Lundy.
