Planning continues for some major upgrades to North Judson’s sidewalk network. INDOT’s engineering firm has begun working on plans for a continuous sidewalk along State Road 10 from Garfield to Oakwood.
Town Superintendent Joe Leszek told the town council last week that while they’d prefer to have it along the south side of the highway, it might get moved to the north side to save money. “The reasons they’re wanting to make the change is all the NIPSCO poles that they’d have to move at the substation, that ditch, that bank they would have to work with, and, if they do it on the north side of the road, they’d only have to do two right-of-way acquisitions,” Leszek explained. “If they do it on the south side of the road, there’s potential for 13.”
Crosswalks at Lane and Silver would connect the sidewalk to Dollar General and CVS. Mitch Hansel with Fleis & VandenBrink noted that INDOT covering the entire cost will save the town $80,000. Plans call for that work to be done in 2024.
Meanwhile, the town is seeking funding to connect that new sidewalk with the Town Park. That will include sidewalks along the west side of George Street from State Road 10 to Weninger Street, the west side of Garfield Avenue from State Road 10 to Campbell Drive, and the south side of Weninger Street from Garfield to George.
Last week, council members formally committed to providing the 20 percent local match at just under $190,000. If INDOT approves the federal funding, the project is currently scheduled to take place in 2026.
