Pulaski County will soon have a county-wide transportation plan. The Indiana Department of Transportation is now requiring rural planning organizations around the state to put together plans for each county they serve. In Pulaski County, that responsibility falls to the Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission.
KIRPC planner Emily Albaugh told the county commissioners Tuesday the plan will provide an overview of the county’s transportation issues. “This will look more of like a birds-eye perspective of what some of your transportation needs are, what issues are out there, and maybe a look at, just briefly, some projects of interest that then you guys can go out and do further studies on,” she explained. She added that the plan will incorporate INDOT projects, as well as those at the county and town level.
To help with the plan, a 10-to-12-member steering committee is being assembled. It will include county and town officials, such as street superintendents. Albaugh also hopes to have representatives for other modes of transportation, as well, such as the Panhandle Pathway, Tippecanoe River, and Arens Field.
KIRPC Executive Director Edwin Buswell told the commissioners the cost of the planning process will be covered by INDOT. “The reason they asked us to start doing these transportation plans for the county was that in the last federal highway bill that was passed, they changed the language,” he explained. “That required states to do a little more coordination with counties than what they had been previously required to do. If you’re going to ever apply for any additional federal funds for highway, this goes to show that the project is a priority, that you’ve planned it.”
KIRPC plans to complete Pulaski County’s transportation plan by July.
