Kosciusko Co. officials discuss future of US-30 at public input meeting

NOW: Kosciusko Co. officials discuss future of US-30 at public input meeting
NEXT:

WARSAW, Ind. --- What will us-30 look like in the next few decades?  Kosciusko county officials posed that question at a public input session in Warsaw Wednesday night. 

Due to a high number of crashes near multiple intersections on US-30, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said they want to ask INDOT to do an environmental impact study. 

Concerned residents packed the Lincoln Elementary gymnasium. They’re worried about the future of US-30 since the possible route changes cut directly through some Warsaw neighborhoods. 

“We’ve sat down with the county and the planners from both the city and the county and we’ve come up with three long-term very general solutions that we just want to present to the public tonight,” Thallemer said. “Get some input you know this is a project that INDOT is eventually going to fund, they’re going to engineer they’re going to make all the decisions on it and they’re going to decide which route we do.”

Wednesday’s session was strictly for officials to gather public opinion. None of the possible changes presented are definite at this time. Any construction would have to be started by INDOT and it’s unlikely that will start for at least another 10 years.

Residents overwhelmingly were in favor of keeping US-30 the way it is despite the safety issues brought up by officials.

Thallemer said that one intersection on US-30 has had 220 accidents in the last 9 and a half years. That’s something that he says is unacceptable.

“It may not happen for quite some time but we need to have the discussion we need to decide what the future of US 30 is in our community,” Thallemer said.

Barb Bussell lives close to the proposed changes. She came to Wednesday’s meeting to learn more about the timeline of things but right now she’s not exactly happy with the proposed routes.

“It goes very close to our neighborhood we have a lot of neighborhoods near us so it’s just important to us,” Bussell said. ”I know there are problems on 30 the semis are just like there are a lot of them and they’re stopping things up a lot but you know having that major highway go through the country near all these neighborhoods it’s a personal thing.” 

Officials said they plan to host more public input meetings in the future.

Share this article: