The Clinton County Commissioners announced that the roundabout located at the intersection of State Road 28 and County Road 800 West just east of I-65 will near completion around July 4.
Clinton County Commissioner President Jordan Brewer stated that the roundabout is nearing completion and may be open to the public around July 4 this year as economic development is expected to spur in the area near I-65 with the expectation of the Bandera’s Point complex to be opened to the public in the future.
“As of last week, still on target for fourth of July, give or take a few days on either side of it for it to be opened up and functional, and that’s exciting,” Brewer said. “It’s had a few challenges, and they’ve made some adjustments both with the weather and maybe how they were doing some traffic patterns, but we’ve kind of worked through all those.”
Brewer stated that the county’s decision to implement a roundabout in the area was based on two main factors, namely standards set by the Indiana Department of Transportation and the development with Bandera’s Point that is expected to continue to stir future developments.
“There was kind of two reasons why we went down that path,” Brewer said. “In conversations with INDOT, they really weren’t going to allow us to use 800 West there right next to the interstate as an access point to that north side for economic development. They wanted something further off the interstate, so this now will create that path that the north parcels can be developed over time, and then we obviously have hopefully the continued development of Bandera’s Point that this will then provide an entrance to the south half as well.”
Brewer stated that the county governmental bodies developed the plan for the roundabout amidst extensive consultation with developers who showcased how larger vehicles, such as farming equipment and semi tractor-trailers would be suitable to pass through the roundabout without causing damage.
“We put a lot of time and effort when it was being developed,” Brewer said. “They brought in basically these models that showed what equipment could make it through there.”
Brewer stated that the models and information presented by the contractors showed the commissioners and other county officials that the roundabout would be suitable for travel by larger vehicles, which the county utilized to justify its implementation alongside numerous financial and future developmental factors.
“We’ll be pretty unhappy if it doesn’t fit the equipment that was shown to us,” Brewer said. “I hope we’ve evolved in our engineering since (the 32 project) to accommodate rural roundabouts more so than ones that are done in the City of Carmel that just doesn’t have the traffic flow.”
Brewer stated that beyond the presence of farm equipment, the roundabout has been designed to be passable by larger semis and tractor-trailers who may require wider turns to clear corners and curves.
“We can even look further past farm equipment just from a tractor-trailer standpoint,” Brewer said. “I don’t know how many go through there daily, but it’s a big gateway from east to west out of Clinton County.”
Brewer stated that while he does not foresee an issue, he expects the community to notify the county and the commissions if issues arise after the roundabout is opened to the public, which is expected around July 4.
“I don’t go that way with too big of equipment too often, but there’s plenty of people that do, so if it provides a challenge, I’m sure I’ll hear about it,” Brewer said.
In previous interviews, Clinton County Council President Alan Dunn stated that the corridor of I-65 represents the best opportunity for long-term economic development, which was one of the main contributing factors to the implementation of the roundabout.
– Photo courtesy of Clinton County, Indiana