Truck traffic traveling on 28 will be avoiding downtown Tipton.
In a Tipton City-County arraignment with INDOT, route 28 truck traffic now avoids the city of Tipton from US 31 to Indiana 19. Control of this “OLD 28” stretch of 28 through Tipton has been handed over to Tipton County and Tipton city government. The rerouting is done with the intention of reducing the problem of the high speed and high volume of semi-trucks going through the center of Tipton. Tipton’s population is 5,275.
The intention of this change is NOT to necessarily reroute car traffic traveling though the center of Tipton. Cars passing through the county avoiding the City of Tipton may result in reducing business traffic for establishments in Tipton located on or near the “OLD 28”.
Tipton Mayor Tom Dolezal has been invited to appear on WILO’s local live talk show Party Line (weekday mornings 8:30 to 9:30) to discuss the change. WILO can be heard at 96.9 FM, 102.7 FM in Boone County and at 1570 AM throughout the region, or streamed world-wide on the WILO app. The Party Line program can also be viewed LIVE each morning and archived world-wide at Hoosierland TV at www.hoosierlandtv.com. The change will result in a longer route required by non-local semi-traffic.
To make the change, Tipton City and County will receive almost 9 million dollars, with most of this going to the City of Tipton. A county road, Division Road, will now be used for truck traffic through Tipton County.
Details according to an earlier proposal are shown below. WILO and Clinton County Daily News is working to obtain changes to this earlier proposal. Current reports indicated new Route 28 signage has recently been installed for a portion of State Route 26 in addition to the signage for the Division Road truck route.
- The state would relinquish control of Indiana 28 from Country Road 560 West to Indiana 19. The county would be responsible for the stretch of road from 560 West to the western limits of the city of Tipton, and it would become a county road and no longer be a state road. The city would be responsible for the stretch of Indiana 28 that runs through its limits to Indiana 19, and Indiana 19 south of Jefferson Street to Park Road; both stretches of road would become city streets and no longer be a state road.
- The state would take over Ash Street and Park Road and that would become the new Indiana 19. INDOT would also reconstruct Park Road to add curbs and gutters.
- Semi-truck traffic would be diverted to Division Road. Instead of semi-trucks getting off of U.S. 31 on Indiana 28, the state would erect signs instructing such traffic to get off on Division Road and then head south on Indiana 19 to either continue on Indiana 19 or on Indiana 28. Notably, local traffic, such as farmers and local business truck traffic, would be able to drive on Indiana 28 through the city limits.
- The state would take responsibility of the bridge on Ash Street just south of Jefferson Street, while the county would take over the bridge on Indiana 19 over Big Cicero Creek and also the bridge on Indiana 28 over Buck Creek.
- INDOT would maintain winter maintenance, such as salting and snow plowing, of Indiana 28 from its subdistrict office near the county jail to U.S. 31 for the indefinite future.
