Elizabeth Bailey
One year after breaking ground on the bundle of Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) projects relating to the arrival of Honda, the ribbon was cut in celebration of their completion.
“I can’t begin to tell you what an exciting day this is for me,” Rep. Cleo Duncan (R-Greensburg) said.
Each Monday beginning with her first term in office, the governor received a letter from Duncan requesting a full interchange at the I-74 exit onto U.S. 421. The day Honda announced it had chosen Greensburg as the home for its new factory, Duncan got a call from the commissioner of INDOT telling her, she said, “You got your interchange.”
“But it’s not my interchange,” she said Wednesday. “It’s our interchange. It opens possibilities for the whole area, allowing for new jobs and enhancing the quality of life.”
INDOT Seymour District Deputy Commissioner Robert Williams pointed out the size of the project completed by INDOT in the last year. The department has built four bridges, created new lanes on U.S. 421, constructed a new interchange with I-74 and the relocated County Road 300 North.
For Williams, it is exciting to have a new INDOT unit next to the new interchange. He expressed his gratitude to Honda, Milestone Contractors, Dave O’Mara Contractors and Valley Asphalt for their contributions and hard work. He also thanked Enneking for hosting the ribbon-cutting, as the morning rain had created a bit too much mud for hosting an event outdoors, he noted.
Jeff Logman, district construction engineer with INDOT Seymour, noted the department’s grattitude for the patience of area residents. He noted what a difficult and inconvenient year it has been for many and hopes the results will prove worth the trouble. Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman is sure they will be.
“This area has seen a renewed sense of energy,” Skillman said.
She commended INDOT for meeting the challenge of a short timeline for such a large project and was pleased to see the funding for Major Moves “out of the bank and into the ground.”
Skillman looks forward to the interchange welcoming new neighbors and businesses and knows the funding for roads and highways gives companies confidence that Indiana is prepared to meet their needs.
“Work like this creates a better place to live, work and build a business,” she said.
INDOT area engineer Jason Bunselmeier said the work that remains on the projects in Decatur County is largely housekeeping. Workers will be cleaning up ditches, finishing gravel work, making sure drainage is clear and generally ensuring everything was completed satisfactorily. This, he said, should take approximately a month. After that, the process of accounting for every man-hour and every yard of rebar will begin, a process that takes two to three months, he said.
Although Bunselmeier oversees projects in seven counties, of which there are quite a few, he acknowledged that this was the largest. After this, more will come.
For Duncan, the achievement of one goal sends her into the next; the goal of ensuring her district’s safety with increased railroad traffic.
