It is an unusual Area Plan Commission meeting that draws a big crowd. It means something has stirred the natives.
Citizen participation is always a good thing. Back a decade or so ago, the APC had some meetings about wind farms. Some decisions were made that set some parameters but when those plans began to be put into place, it was only then that the natives became restless.
“We didn’t know,” was the common refrain, although the prospect of having the large wind turbines across Wells County’s southern plains being the subject of those prior meetings had been (in our humble opinion) widely reported upon in these pages. In this case, people were apparently paying attention when initial discussions about the county’s strategic plans included getting Wells County’s county seat community — Bluffton — connected to the “regional urban hub” — Fort Wayne— with a four-lane highway. All the other county seat communities that surround Fort Wayne are. In our case, the existing highway goes through another community — Ossian — that is in no mood to be bypassed.
I am not convinced the project is anywhere on INDOT’s radar. No one has produced any drawings, but obviously even talking about it has stirred up controversy.
What to do?
Two thoughts from this corner.
1) When Indiana 3 was four-laned from Fort Wayne to Kendallville, I am guessing at least 20-some years ago, the process bypassed two communities, LaOtto and Avilla. From what connections I have in Noble County, the communities have not died, but it can be argued they have benefited by the close proximity to a four-lane connection to both Fort Wayne and Kendallville and their adjacent connections.
So the lesson: While it is hard to believe that at least a few businesses did not suffer at least initially, being bypassed is not necessarily a bad thing.
It is hard to imagine however, getting a four-lane highway squeezed in north of Bluffton starting, let’s say, from County Rd. 250N. There are many homes in close proximity and at what point would it veer either east or west? Would they build an overpass with exits for US 224? Would they return at some point to the present Ind. 1 to intersect with I-469 or might they take the route over to Thiele Road and build another interchange there? Cannot imagine a) how many acres would be removed from farming and b) what the total cost might be to, according to one speaker last week, save seven minutes for the average driver.
2) Driving in northern and central Arizona of late, when we got off of the Interstates (I-17 and I-40), we found few four-lane highways. Instead, their two-lane highways have frequent “passing lanes,” alternating between each direction. Essentially, a three-lane highway.
A newsroom discussion brought a reminder from our historic-Ossian-connected Glen Werling that Ind. 1 was, years a go, a three-lane highway. The middle lane was a “passing lane” available at all times to either direction.
“It was called the ‘suicide lane,’” he shared. Only makes sense.
We would not advocate that ill-fated plan, but wonder if the state would ever consider what I will call the “Arizona option.” The right-of-way along the existing path of Ind. 1 appears it might accommodate three modern lanes. The highway would still deal with a two-lane route through Ossian, but it would be a heckuva lot less costly and would give us safe opportunities to bypass those people who seem to insist the speed limit on Ind. 1 is 50 mph.
No offense to our friends in Ossian, but I wouldn’t mind zipping around them when heading north, believing they — and all of us — would benefit in the long run. The cost strikes me as pretty exorbitant, however, so I’d be happy to compromise with some frequent passing options.
Just a thought. Trying to maybe unstir the natives.
miller@news-banner.com
