VALPARAISO | The engineering consultants for the next three major projects on the Redevelopment Commission's agenda are selected, but budget concerns could push back one of them to 2012.
After going through 44 proposals for the three projects over the past month, the commission Thursday picked The Troyer Group of Mishawaka to design the roundabout at Vale Park and Silhavy Roads.
American Structurepoint of Indianapolis was selected for the roundabout at the five-points intersection of Vale Park, Roosevelt Road and Calumet Avenue and DLZ Indiana with offices in Northwest Indiana for improvements to the Calumet/Burlington Beach Road corridor.
Funding for the last project is tied to development of the Memorial Hospital site at Ind. 49 and Burlington Beach. South Bend-based Memorial Health System said it will buy the bonds for about $10 million in infrastructure improvements for its planned 100-bed hospital.
About half of that would go for the improvements to Calumet and Burlington Beach from Bullseye Lake Road to the hospital entrance.
No final agreement is signed with Memorial yet, so the commission has no guarantee of the funding. The total engineering costs for the project, which would include sidewalks, drainage work, curbs and gutters, is estimated at $549,000. Facing a possible budget deficit of almost $1 million next year because of the new property tax cap legislation, the commission decided to go with an interim step to keep the project moving and eligible for matching funds.
The commission plans to have DLZ do preliminary engineering at a cost of about $50,000. Stuart Summers, the commission's executive director, said the bill for it probably won't come due until April or May because all three consulting contracts still have to be reviewed and approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation before the city can negotiate a final contract covering the work and price. The final contract also must get INDOT approval.
By the time DLZ can do the work, Summers said the commission could have a better idea of the hospital's situation.
City Engineering Director Tim Burkman said Burlington Beach was built under the county's jurisdiction before it was annexed into the city. It is a chip and seal road failing in many areas because of poor drainage. Even newly developed Hawthorn subdivision experiences flooding problems due to drainage.
Summers said the engineering will take two years to complete, which means construction couldn't begin until 2011. INDOT plans to build an interchange at Vale Park and Ind. 49 in 2011, and Burlington Beach will become the alternate route for most traffic. To avoid tying that up with construction at the same time, Summers said the project could end up being done in 2012.
The city hopes to do the Silhavy/Vale Park roundabout in 2010 and the five-points roundabout in 2011.
