The Starke County Economic Development Foundation hosted a meeting last night with various members of the Starke County community who would be impacted by the proposed U.S. 30 Freeway Project.
SCEDF Executive Director Charles Weaver began the meeting and introduced representatives from Appian , a consulting firm that is working with the foundation. President of the organization, Dennis Faulkenberg started by saying that though the project is still very far down the line, they wanted to hear some of the ideas that were circulating within the community.
Faulkenberg advised everyone present that it is imperative to collect data and come up with a concrete plan prior to approaching INDOT. He said that’s the best way to avoid being pressured into doing the most cost effective option at the expense of what is best for the community.
Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler stated that for the past two months, the highway department has been collecting various data in order to guide any decisions that are made in the future. They are measuring various things such as traffic counts, vehicle types, speeds and accident information. The department will continue collecting this data over a year period in order to accurately assess various trends.
Individuals provided their opinions about the most ideal locations for overpasses and interchanges. The main concerns stemmed from local farmers, small business owners and individuals who administer emergency services within the county.
For instance, representatives from fire departments in the county said there would need to be gates installed for emergency use only to ensure that response times wouldn’t be impacted due to the construction.
Some local farmers expressed concerns about the size of their equipment as well as the fact that farmers utilize different roads at various times of the year so specific data collected may be missing the whole picture and any plans developed from that could be limited.
Individuals speaking for various small businesses in Hamlet were worried that if the freeway is implemented in a particular area, it would cut off the town from incoming traffic since individuals would have to go out of their way in order to get there.
Executive Director Weaver announced that another meeting will be scheduled when Highway Superintendent Ritzler can provide some more findings from his department’s data collection. Weaver and the Appian representatives thanked the community members for coming out and providing their input.
Though ultimately no definite decisions were reached, the preliminary planning stages are off the ground. Last night’s meeting was the first step in coming up with a solid proposal to provide to INDOT for consideration.
To hear more details from Wednesday night’s meeting, tune into WKVI’s program Kankakee Valley Viewpoints this Sunday at noon.
