Plans for 5-points roundabout OK'd

VALPARAISO | Get ready for construction of the next big roundabout project in the city.

Valparaiso's Board of Public Works and Safety approved the plans for the roundabout at the five-points intersection of Vale Park Road, Roosevelt Road and North Calumet Avenue on Thursday.

Construction of the $2.1 million project is slated to begin in the spring with completion in the fall.

City Engineering Director Tim Burkman told the board the plans by American Structurepoint, of Indianapolis, have taken more than two years to complete and have to be submitted to the Indiana Department of Transportation by Oct. 21 for review in order for INDOT to open bids in February.

The roundabout will have two lanes and require the moving of three businesses' signs: Urschel Laboratories, Prudential and First Source Bank. A small portion of the parking lot for the strip shopping center at the southeast corner of Roosevelt and Vale Park will be used and an additional driveway into the center will be built.

Burkman said all the property needed for the project has been obtained, and the project will be completed in three phases to minimize the need to close streets. The first phase will close the northbound lane on Roosevelt, but two-way traffic on Roosevelt will be maintained on the west half of the road.

For the second phase, Roosevelt and the east approach to the intersection on Vale Park will be shut down. The east half of Calumet also will be shut while two-way traffic is maintained on the west half of the road. Vale Park traffic will be detoured to Country Club Road and Roosevelt traffic can use Glendale Boulevard to Calumet.

In the final phase, the west half of the intersection, including the west half of Calumet, will be closed while the east half of Calumet will be reopened. Vale Park traffic will be detoured to Bullseye Lake Road and to Glendale.

Burkman said 90 percent of the project will be funded through the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program with the rest coming from the city's Redevelopment Commission. The $295,000 cost for American Structurepoint's work also is eligible for 90 percent federal funding.

"This project will improve safety and reduce emissions," Burkman said. "Based on our experience with the other roundabouts, we know that is the case."