The Marshall County Commissioners received an update on two ongoing construction projects.
Bart Trester, project supervisor for the 7th Road project, said the project is on schedule to finish this year.
“The contractors have completed the removal of the unsuitable soils and are backfilling with the borrowed material along the project limits. With that done, the contractors have been able to upgrade the main line and cut ditches along the project limits. They have completed the installation of the box culvert at Zimmer Ditch and a temporary lane has been constructed. Traffic will be switched over and this will allow the contractor to begin construction on the roundabout on Michigan Road. Pile driving issues on the Seltenright Ditch are on hold as we’re waiting for the contractor to return to the project. In talking with the designer, we should be able to lighten driving requirements so we don’t have to drive them so deep,” explained Trester.
Extra time was added to the project as the crews were having to pile drive the soil much deeper than anticipated as it was difficult to compact.
The Metronet project is also moving along.
“The contractors finished the plow operations and the remaining operations will be bored. The remaining 8,000-9,000 lineal feet are up north from Ireland Road to Kern Road and we have a few issues being coordinated with INDOT and the contractor in this section. There’s a bridge they’re building and they may have put in deeper foundations so we may have to go further underground. They’ve installed about 85,000 of lineal feet of conduit along with several manholes.”
Trester indicated that the project should take approximately five more weeks to complete. The fiber optic cable will be installed as soon as the conduit is tested and passes inspection.
Crews have hit a few gas lines during the course of the project which have slowed the project only slightly. Some lines were not properly marked.
