GOSHEN — It’s been decades since local and state officials noticed the increasing traffic in downtown Goshen.
U.S. 33, a major road in northern Indiana, zig-zags through Madison, Main and Pike streets, with semi-trailers and other heavy trucks rolling through the historic downtown. On weekday afternoons, traffic slows travel greatly.
Added to the chaotic afternoons downtown are the dozens of trains that pass through the city, bringing traffic to a complete stop.
“The trains are the main reason why we need this,” Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman said. “We get around 120 trains in Goshen every day.”
The solution to Goshen’s traffic concerns, says the Indiana Department of Transportation, is building a $19 million road that will redirect traffic from Lincolnway East directly to Pike Street and away from downtown.
While preliminary work has been underway for months, the project’s official groundbreaking is Thursday, and plans call for opening the new road to traffic by late October 2018, if not sooner, said Heather Hacha-Thomas, spokesman for the INDOT Fort Wayne District.
The new road will run parallel to Norfolk Southern’s Chicago Line north of downtown, with three bridges going over the Norfolk’s Marion Branch, Lincoln Avenue and Cottage Avenue.
GROUNDBREAKING THURSDAYOfficials from the city of Goshen, the Indiana Department of Transportation,
Rieth-Riley Construction Co. and
DLZ Engineering Services will take part in an invitation-only ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday morning to mark the start of the connector project.
The project will also include the widening of Pike Street from the Elkhart River bridge east to Third Street. The project was awarded to local contractor Rieth-Riley in March.