Public Notice
Des. No. 2003077
Wells County is planning to undertake a new bridge and road reconstruction and realignment project funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The project is located on County Road (CR) 200 South from Adams Street/CR 100 East to CR 200 East/Ellingham Pike.
The project proposes to construct a new bridge to carry CR 200 South over the Norfolk Southern Railroad. The new three-span bridge will be approximately 178.5 feet long and out-to-out copings approximately 34.67 feet wide. CR 200 South will be realigned slightly to the south at the railroad crossing to reduce the skew and the length of the new bridge. The realignment of CR 200 South will reduce impacts to adjacent residential properties and allow portions of the existing CR 200 South to maintain traffic during construction. CR 200 South will have a typical section consisting of two 12-foot travel lanes, one in each direction, with 4-foot paved shoulders for a total pavement width of 32 feet. Small structures within the project area will be replaced.
The project is approximately 1.00 mile long. Approximately 4.25 acres of permanent right-of-way acquisition is anticipated. The proposed right-of-way width on CR 200 South ranges from 30 to 70 feet wide. One residential relocation (demolition) is expected. Construction is anticipated to begin in the Summer of 2026. Maintenance of Traffic will allow CR 200 South to remain open while building of the bridge and approach work take place. Short-term closures and a detour will also be used.
The need for this project is due to the high volume of train traffic on the Norfolk Southern Railroad in addition to the high volume of heavy truck traffic accessing the nearby renewable fuels plant. When trains are stopped on the tracks, there are no elevated crossings available for motorists in the City of Bluffton. According to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), as of 2022, an average of eight trains use this line every day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and eight trains use this line between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. With the average delay per train being approximately 10 minutes, traffic at the above railroad crossings is delayed approximately 11% of the day. In addition, over the last 32 years, there have been 3 crashes at the CR 200 S crossing involving train collisions, resulting in one casualty. The purpose of this project is to reduce delays for local traffic, improve east-west connectivity for truck traffic to bypass the City of Bluffton, and to provide a safe railroad crossing.
The proposed action does not impact properties listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), on behalf of the FHWA, has issued a “No Historic Properties Affected” finding for the project due to the fact that no historic properties are present within the Area of Potential Effects (APE). In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, the views of the public are being sought regarding the effect of the proposed project on the historic elements as per 36 CFR 800.2(d), 800.3(e) and 800.6(a)(4). Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.4(d)(1), the documentation specified in 36 CFR 800.11(d) is available for inspection in Butler, Fairman, & Seufert, Inc. Additionally, this documentation can be viewed electronically by accessing INDOT’s Section 106 document posting website IN SCOPE at https://erms12c.indot.in.gov/Section106Documents/. This documentation serves as the basis for the “No Historic Properties Affected” finding. The views of the public on this effect finding are being sought. Please reply with any comments to Elizabet Biggio, Butler, Fairman, & Seufert, Inc., 9450 Westfield Blvd. Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46240, 317-713-4615, ebiggio@bfsengr.com no later than May 26, 2024.
In accordance with the “Americans with Disabilities Act”, if you have a disability for which Wells County needs to provide accessibility to the document(s) such as interpreters or readers, please contact the ADA Coordinator, Nate Rumschlag, at 260-824-6430 or ADA@wellscounty.org.
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