Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The signs of spring are all around.
Trees are budding, the grass is turning green, flowers are waking from the winter slumber - and the area road crews are gearing up for another season of road repaving and rehabilitation.
In Warsaw, residents traveling north and south may have to find alternate routes between the first of May and the first of July.
A major reconstruction project will be done to Buffalo Street, between Center and Market streets, according to Lacy Francis, superintendent of public works.
"This will be a total reconstruction of Buffalo Street in that one block section," Francis said. "We'll be tearing out the road and rebuilding it, with new sewers, new curbs and new sidewalks.
"We'll be having a meeting with the business owners and property owners in that block within the next two weeks to give them all the details," Francis added.
At the same time as the Buffalo Street project, traffic on High Street, between Center and Main streets, will also be restricted to complete the reconstruction begun last year in conjunction with the Warsaw Community Public Library renovation. The southbound lane of High Street will be reconstructed.
Also, North Union Street, between Fort Wayne and Lake streets will be milled and resurfaced during the same May/June timeframe, Francis said.
"Undoubtedly, we will be doing more alleys and streets as the summer progresses," he said. "We'll be letting the people know where those are as we get them scheduled."
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is slated to spend $709 million on various projects around the state. While none of those projects will be done in Kosciusko County, area residents traveling outside the county may be affected by some in the northern part of the state.
The most extensive project in the area will involve the reconstruction of the U.S. 31-U.S. 24 interchange and a bridge rehabilitation project over the Wabash River, just south of that interchange.
Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction on U.S 31. U.S. 24 will be closed between Ind. 19 and U.S. 31. The project is expected to be completed by the fall of this year.
Other state highway projects scheduled for north-central Indiana include:
- A reconstruction project on U.S. 20, four miles east of Ind. 15. The expected completion date is Oct. 1.
- A bridge replacement on I-80/90 toll road over Ind. 9. Completion is expected to be by Jan. 1, 2000.
Kosciusko County Highway Superintendent and Engineer Robert Ladson said he will have a firm schedule withing the next 10 days of road projects the county will be completing this construction season.
