Advisory group to be named for connector highway

A Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is expected to be named soon to help select the path of a road that will connect Interstate 64 at Lanesville to S.R. 64 west of Georgetown.
‘This is a project that will happen over the next several years,’ said Harrison County Highway Engineer Darin Duncan.
When finished, the road will be similar to the one that runs south of I-64 to S.R. 62.
The Harrison County Board of Commissioners is developing the project that, the board hopes, will be partially funded by the Federal Highway Administration through the Indiana Dept. of Transportation.
The new road is designed to help relieve traffic on S.R. 64, Duncan said he realizes it’s ‘a project some of you probably don’t want, and may never want, while it’s a project some of you have been waiting for.’
American Consulting Engineers in Indianapolis will manage the project with a couple of other firms assisting, Duncan said.
A public hearing was held Jan. 27 at the Lanesville Junior-Senior High School to answer questions and solicit committee members.
Persons selected to serve on the committee are to represent larger groups and be responsible for coordinating and facilitating communications between Duncan, the county commissioners and the consultants.
American Consulting, in a prepared statement about the Community Advisory Committee, said committee members ‘will be solicited for input and comments which will assist in preparation of the environmental and engineering documents.
‘Their input will be carefully considered as the project advances through the planning studies into the detailed design and eventually into construction,’ the statement said.
With regard to funding, Duncan said that what initially appeared to be an 80-20 split, with the county providing the 20, he said, is now a 90-10 split.
Project manager Bob Hill told those at the meeting that he couldn’t provide ‘specific information about alignments’ but the consultants were prepared to discuss ‘concepts.’
Five proposed routes have been mapped, but the final path could be different.
‘There is no predetermined plan,’ Duncan said.
Although the project is referred to as the Crandall-Lanesville Road Extension, the route has little impact on the existing Crandall-Lanesville Road, which turns west just north of the interstate. Rather, the connector would continue north from Exit 113 of I-64 almost to Georges Hill Road.
At that point, ‘Alternate 1’ veers slightly to the east before heading due north and straddling the Harrison-Floyd County Line at Old Lanesville Road on to S.R. 64.
Alternates 2 and 3 continue almost totally due north from the interstate until reaching the Norfolk Southern Railroad. From there, Alternate 2 heads east. Then it turns north when it hits the county line.
Alternate 3 begins a gradual westerly turn as it continues north before reaching S.R. 64 about midway between Gun Club Road and Peppermill Ridge subdivision.
The remaining two alternates, 4 and 5, take a drastic turn to the west when they reach Georges Hill Road. The two routes continue on the same course after crossing the railroad. From there, Alternate 4 turns due north and hits S.R. 64 east of Gun Club Road. Alternate 5 continues northwest until it reaches Angel Run Road and appears to follow that road until coming out on S.R. 64 across from Elk Hollow Road, west of Gun Club Road.
Consultants already believe Alternate 5 is ‘probably the least desirable’ route, followed by 1 then 2, Hill said.
Hill said the routes were selected based on input at a public hearing in August. Last month’s hearing was to seek additional input from residents.
‘There’s going to be some pain that goes along with that,’ Duncan said. ‘Hopefully, the corridor will not just benefit people wanting to get to and from work. Hopefully, it will bring along some jobs.’
Harrison County paid for a detailed study of a 10-mile radius of the Lanesville interchange to determine the best use of the area, which has not been developed thus far, mainlyy due to lack of a wastewater treatment plant and sewers. The study was completed in 2002.
‘We want to know the goods and the bads of the project,’ Hill told the audience.
Duncan said Monday afternoon that about 12 people had indicated a desire to serve on the committee, but the final selection has not been made.
Notification should be made in the next week or so, so the group can begin its work, Duncan said.