The Knox City Council received an update on the 300 East construction project in the Industrial Park.
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Director Charlie Weaver said that bids were opened in March for the reconstruction of the intersection of State Road 8 and County Road 300 East. The southern part of the intersection will be reconstructed.
Weaver stated if a truck is leaving the industrial park heading north and turns east onto State Road 8 toward U.S. 35 it not only goes into the westbound lane it crosses into the berm and the grass beyond to make that right-hand turn. This project will eliminate that and make that intersection safer for truck drivers to maneuver in and out of the industrial park.
Half of the project will be funded by grant money from the Economic Development Administration of the United States Department of Commerce, 40 percent will come from the county commissioners CEDIT funds and 10 percent will be contributed by the Starke County Economic Development Foundation. Heavy work at that intersection will begin after July 1.
Improvement work on the road that goes through the industrial park will be let for bid on May 8 by INDOT. The county will be funding that and the city will be providing funds to relocate fire hydrants. That project could be complete by the end of this year. Weaver explained that the roads will be open for traffic as much as possible.
In another project, Weaver said timber is being removed in order to offer green space to encourage industry to build in Starke County. The development foundation and the county are working on removing timber in the Knox, Hamlet and North Judson industrial locations for shovel ready sites.
The development foundation is also considering shell building project. The construction of a 120,000 square foot building is planned with a rail loading dock.
