PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Central Avenue Roadway Improvement project (Des. No. 0901928) is an approximate 2.08-mile corridor beginning at County Line Road and extending east to Willowcreek Road. A Categorical Exclusion (CE) Level 3 was prepared for the overall project (County Line Road to Willowcreek Road, Des. No. 0901928) and approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) on February 27, 2012.

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Since the approval of the overall project in 2012, no portion has been constructed and the overall project has been broken into four phases for construction and funding purposes. This document is intended to provide an update to the project's status and the anticipated schedule of the first two phases. The first two phases (Phase 1 and Phase 2) of the Central Avenue Roadway Improvement project (Des. No. 1173430) encompass an approximate 0.53-mile corridor beginning at Brandt Street and extending east to Peach Street. An Additional Information (AI) document was approved for Phases 1 and 2 on January 5, 2022.

The proposed alignment and typical section of the roadway remain unchanged from the 2012 CE 3. The proposed undertaking consists of the reconstruction of Central Avenue to include two 12-foot travel lanes (one in each direction) along with curb and gutter. An 8-foot-wide multi-use path would be added along the north side of the roadway and be separated from the travel lanes by a 5-foot vegetated buffer strip.  As part of the proposed project, an enclosed stormwater system will still be included. Stormwater will be conveyed through storm sewer to Willow Creek. Lighting will be provided at intersections as warranted. The roadway alignment will still be shifted south at Swanson Road to correct the substandard existing geometry and address site distance concerns as originally proposed.

Additionally, the existing bridge over Willow Creek (Porter County Bridge 1007; Des. No. 2101167) will still be replaced and re-aligned as previously anticipated in the 2012 CE 3 due to sight distance concerns and the hydraulic capacity of the existing structure. The existing Willow Creek Bridge is a single-span pre-stressed box beam bridge constructed in 1973. This bridge is not listed, nor is it eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The proposed bridge, along with Central Avenue approaching the bridge, would be realigned to the north to flatten the existing horizontal curve present in the current roadway on the same alignment as previously anticipated in the 2012 CE 3. The proposed bridge is a single-span composite pre-stressed concrete I-beam bridge. The bridge would carry two 12-foot travel lanes (one eastbound and one westbound), two 2-foot shoulders on either side of the travel lanes, and one 8-foot 7-inch multi-use path, north of the westbound travel lane and shoulder, over Willow Creek.

Since the approval of the 2012 CE 3, it has been determined that the proposed roundabout at Central and Willowdale within Phase 2 will be modified to a three-way stop-controlled intersection. Additionally, since the approval of the 2022 Additional Information Document it has been determined that two dry bottom detention ponds will be constructed to intercept and detain water prior to discharge to Willow Creek. The first basin will be located north of Willow Creek and south of Central Avenue while the second basin is proposed to be located south of Willow Creek and north of Central Avenue. These basins are currently proposed to be located outside of the regulated floodway of Willow Creek. Additionally, new lighting will be installed at the intersections of Central Avenue with Willowdale Road, Swanson Road, and Peach Street.