While INDOT is not showing any movement toward a U.S. 30 freeway project and has no current plans to develop it, the U.S. 30 Coalition members are attempting to lobby the Governor’s Office and the legislature to get the project moving.
The U.S. 30 Coalition consists of members from each of the seven counties along the proposed route from Valparaiso to Fort Wayne.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer explained to the Starke County Commissioners Monday morning that the coalition members are striving for safety on U.S. 30 which has experienced an increase in semi truck traffic and accidents in the past several years. Thallemer said those statistics may increase with the projected estimated use of the corridor in the next 10 years.
In the meantime, INDOT officials are attempting to get short-term solutions in place along the corridor until a long-term plan is prepared.
The Coalition members are looking to each of the seven counties along the corridor to come up with a unique plan to accommodate specific needs as the proposed freeway could produce limited access to rural areas. Mayor Thallemer, who is the president of the coalition, said it’s important that each county provides input to present to INDOT rather than INDOT present plans that don’t fit the needs of each county.
Starke County has been involved with the U.S. 30 Coalition since its organization in 2016 where $10,000 was initially paid toward efforts, but the commissioners have not made a decision on whether or not to continue paying that contribution.
The Coalition is looking toward Starke County in support of the Coalition to try and get a commitment from INDOT to work with the project.
It was noted that planning for this project is still about a decade in the making, but the Coalition wants to get started. It could take up to three years to complete the environmental impact study in itself with design plans and other logistics taking about the same amount of time.
Commissioner Bryan Cavender said there are some issues in the Hamlet area concerning this project and that is the county’s main concern. He added that the uncertainty surrounding the project is also affecting potential economic development in Hamlet.
It was the decision of Cavender and Commissioner Kathy Norem to discuss their actions further with the full board during their next public meeting as Commission President Charlie Chesak was absent from the meeting.
