VALPARAISO | The estimated cost of improving Silhavy Road between LaPorte Avenue and Evans Avenue has more than doubled, forcing the city's Redevelopment Commission to change its project priorities.
City Engineering Director Tim Burkman told the commission Thursday the cost to widen the road, add sidewalks and improve drainage has risen from $1.3 million to $2.8 million. With five major projects slated to get federal funding over the next three years, Burkman and Stuart Summers, executive director of the commission, recommended the Silhavy improvement be pushed back to 2011 and only the sidewalks and drainage work done.
The first priority should be to use tax increment financing revenue to pay for the construction of the roundabout at Silhavy and Vale Park Road, Burkman said. That project is scheduled for this year at an estimated cost of $1.5 million, of which $700,000 is federally funded. The goal is to finish the roundabout before the state begins construction of an interchange at Ind. 49, possibly by the end of the year.
Councilman John Bowker said the commission should try to do the interim improvements to Silhavy south of Evans before the interchange work starts because Silhavy will be a main detour route during the interchange construction, which is expected to take much of 2011. Having Silhavy hampered by more construction at that time would cause more problems for motorists, Bowker said.
Burkman said making the Silhavy improvement project all locally funded would give the city more flexibility because it would not have to go through the Indiana Department of Transportation for plan approvals and bidding. The commission agreed with that change.
The roundabout at the five-points intersection of Vale Park, Roosevelt Road and North Calumet Avenue is the second priority under the recommendations. That project is scheduled for 2012 at a cost of about $1.7 million, which would be covered by federal funds.
Third on the list is improving Burlington Beach Road from Calumet Avenue to Ind. 49. Burkman described the road as "an old country road with numerous site and drainage problems." The project originally was to make the road adequate for handling traffic to the proposed Memorial Hospital site east of Ind. 49, but the future of the hospital remains in doubt because of the economy.
Valparaiso got a $3 million federal grant for the project, but when the hospital project was pushed back, the city got permission to use $880,000 to complete the Valparaiso Street reconstruction. DLZ, a consulting firm, is working on new cost estimates to see how much additional funding the commission will need either from federal grants or its own money. For now, the project is scheduled for 2012.
The last project is North Calumet from Burlington Beach to Bullseye Lake Road. The project includes sidewalks, turn lanes and drainage work, and Burkman said it could be funded with local dollars. For that reason the commission agreed to allocate $280,000 to put sidewalks from Bullseye Lake to Flint Lake School, upgrade the signals and make intersection improvements at Burlington Beach and Calumet.
The commission also allocated $715,000 for the Silhavy work between Evans and LaPorte. The work also will include turn lanes at Silhavy and Glendale Boulevard and sidewalks all the way from LaPorte to Vale Park.
