Governor Daniels and INDOT Proposing to Speed Up Construction of US 31 Through Westfield

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels today proposed to accelerate the construction of US 31 through Westfield and Carmel. The plan involves consolidating the entire project through Hamilton County into one large project and utilizing contractor financing. The upshot is that the project will cost less and open to traffic three years earlier than originally planned. The quicker completion time will be accomplished by completely shutting down portions of the highway during construction--a new strategy, as far as I know.

I haven't had a chance to speak to the Mayor yet, so I'm not sure what his reaction is to this news. On the one hand, it'll be great to get US 31 completed much quicker. On the other hand, the intensity of the disruption in and around Westfield during a complete shut down of the highway will be much greater.

There will be a "New U.S. 31 Hamilton County" public open house on Thursday, March 29 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Carmel High School main cafeteria. That should be an interesting event.

For your convenience, I've linked to an Indianapolis Star story and to the "New U.S. 31 Hamilton County" web page if you want more information. The links are on the upper right corner of my main blog page under the heading "Westfield News Around the Web."


Thanks for reading.

Ken Kingshill
Westfield, Indiana