TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A redesign of an overpass project at 13th Street and 8th Avenue will not only save the City of Terre Haute money, it will also have a reduced impact on residences in the neighborhood, according to officials.
Terre Haute, in 2018, was awarded a $13.5 million Local Trax grant through the Indiana Department of Transportation for the purpose of improving safety and mobility at rail-highway intersections, assistant city engineer Marcus Maurer explained.
The grant was based on an original design to build a two-bridge overpass.
After the grant was approved, INDOT conducted a study to make sure the plan was feasible, coming back to the city with three possible options: Do nothing, move forward with the original plan or look into a third option that would result in a “significant cost savings,” Maurer said.
The third option, chosen by the city, includes a roundabout on both 13th Street and 8th Avenue with a single overpass 8th Avenue.
Maurer noted the third option is also a “less intrusive design” with the shorter approaches having a “reduced impact” on the neighborhood.
Maurer said the city expects to go to bid for the project by April of 2023 with work to begin in June of 2023. Construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete.
The 8th Avenue overpass is the second project stemming from the 2012 “Terre Haute Urbanized Area Railroad Corridor Study” conducted by the City of Terre Haute, Vigo County and the West Central Indiana Economic Development District.
The study looked at all of the overpasses and underpasses in the community as well as train and vehicular traffic trends.
Based on the study, the Margaret Avenue overpass became the top priority. Once it was completed in 2018, the Local Trax grant provided the city a chance to move forward with another high-priority area.
“This grant opportunity was a great opportunity to take advantage of,” Maurer said, noting that such projects are costly.
When the opportunity becomes available, Maurer said downtown Terre Haute will be the next area of focus based on the results of the study.
