Median in the works for 3rd Street at Overhill, traffic commission gets briefed

Proposed median in connection with repaiving work.

Crash diagram at 3rd and Overhill

Scope of 3rd Street repaving project

Bloomington will be using its $463,000 share of the state’s spring Community Crossings matching grant awards for a repaving project on 3rd Street, from Eagleson Avenue to Overhill Drive.

At its regular Wednesday meeting, the city’s traffic commission got a heads up about that 3rd Street repaving project—in connection with a plan to install a median on 3rd Street at Overhill Drive.

The repaving project and the median project are “an ideal opportunity for coordination,” senior project engineer Neil Kopper told the traffic commission. No matter what, the sidewalk curb ramps have to be brought into ADA compliance at the 3rd Street and Overhill Drive intersection, Kopper said.

The idea behind installing a median is to block left turns from 3rd Street into Overhill Drive, thereby preventing a type of crash pattern that Kopper said was notable at the intersection. Continue reading “Median in the works for 3rd Street at Overhill, traffic commission gets briefed” →

Winslow Road resurfacing gets some discussion by Bloomington RDC, but no vote on contract

The yellow area is Bloomington’s consolidated TIF district. The purple line is the original scope of the Winslow Road project all the way to High Street. That scope has been dialed back to Allendale Drive.

An item related to a Winslow Road resurfacing project—which was postponed by Bloomington’s redevelopment commission from its meeting two weeks ago—still did not get a vote by the RDC on Monday.

The resolution that appeared Monday’s meeting agenda did not need a vote, according to assistant city attorney Larry Allen, because the construction contracts were not yet ready to be approved. And the contract approvals were not yet ready because the grant from INDOT’s Community Crossings matching grant program has not yet been awarded.

But public works director Adam Wason was able to respond to questions from RDC members about the project. The item had been postponed from two weeks ago, because Wason was not able to attend that meeting.

On Monday, Allen also sketched out the legal department’s position on why TIF (tax increment finance) funds are allowed to be spent on a project like Winslow Road resurfacing. The project entails milling down the surface of the road by a couple of inches, laying new asphalt and re-striping the pavement.

Winslow Road cuts east-west across the southern part of Bloomington. Continue reading “Winslow Road resurfacing gets some discussion by Bloomington RDC, but no vote on contract” →

Winslow Road repaving gets initial $500K nod from Bloomington RDC

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/3/edit?mid=1h7lxTOSY61FWk8H2yhNHa67IlDrrzQU&usp=sharing

Winslow Road, which cuts east-west across the southern part of Bloomington, has received a nod from the city’s redevelopment commission for a resurfacing project that is supposed to be completed sometime in 2023.

The preliminary engineering work for the project is hoped to start this fall and last through the spring, with construction to begin in 2023.

The RDC’s initial approval, which came at its regular Tuesday meeting, established the work as an RDC project, with a kind of placeholder cost of $500,000. But the action by the five-member RDC did not approve the expenditure of any funds.

The scope of the project goes from Walnut Street on the west to High Street to the east.

Public works director Adam Wason responded to an emailed B Square question by describing the planned work as a “standard milling/paving/lane marking project.” Continue reading “Winslow Road repaving gets initial $500K nod from Bloomington RDC” →

Bloomington city council votes to repave College Mall Road on split vote

Looking northeast at the intersection of Sare Road and Moores Pike.

Extracted from the Bloomington’s “full build bicycle network” in the transportation plan.

College Mall Road south of 3rd Street looking south.

At its regular meeting Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council voted to approve an appropriation ordinance that includes, among other things, a reclassification of funds to pay for a repaving of College Mall Road.

The project, which extends between 3rd Street and Moores Pike, is planned for later this summer.

The vote, which was split 6–3 on the nine-member council, came as the clock ticked towards 10:30 p.m., about four hours after the meeting started.

Dissenting on the vote were councilmembers Steve Volan, Matt Flaherty, and Kate Rosenbarger.

The meeting was fraught with procedural wrangling that could be traced to lingering discord from the beginning of the year over the establishment of four-member standing committees of the council.

In the end, the council’s action on Wednesday provided funding for two street projects, which are supposed to start this summer. One is a repaving project—College Mall Road, southward from 3rd Street to Moores Pike.

The other project includes improvements to the intersection at Sare Road and Moores Pike and construction of a multi-use path south of there. Continue reading “Bloomington city council votes to repave College Mall Road on split vote” →