Construction on Winona Lake’s newest roundabout at Park Avenue, Winona Avenue, Kings Highway and Argonne Road is set to begin on Monday, July 25. Shown is the intersection on Tuesday night. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WINONA LAKE — Construction on Winona Lake’s newest roundabout is set to begin on Monday, July 25.

Winona Lake Town Manager Craig Allebach gave that information at the Winona Lake Town Council’s meeting on Tuesday, July 19.

The roundabout will be constructed at Park Avenue, Kings Highway, Winona Avenue and Argonne Road on the edge of Warsaw-Winona Lake.

Though Monday is the official start of roundabout construction, work has gone on in the area for months due to NIPSCO doing utility work for the roundabout, and the city of Warsaw completing a separate storm drain project.

Phend & Brown is the contractor for the project, with its nearly $3 million bid being accepted this spring. The Indiana Department of Transportation is footing 80% of the cost for the roundabout with Winona Lake paying 20%.

“This week they’ll kind of be positioning themselves with various signage for … traffic,” said Allebach. “(Construction) will go about six days a week until near the end of December and then they’ll pull up for the winter and come back in the spring with about a month’s worth of work in the spring.”

Allebach later noted to InkFreeNews that some lanes should remain open to traffic throughout the course of the project, but drivers are encouraged to seek another route for travel if possible.

Town Budget

Town Clerk-Treasurer Laurie Renier also provided the council with upcoming important dates regarding Winona Lake’s 2023 budget.

A public hearing on the budget will be at council’s Tuesday, Sept. 20 meeting, with budget adoption set for Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Renier mentioned she’s asked department heads to aim for 4% when requesting raises although they may not necessarily get that amount. The Kosciusko County Clerk’s Office also asked that the town budget $8,000 for 2023 to help run Winona Lake’s town elections next year.

Town Activities

The council also heard about various upcoming events in the area.

The Winona Lake Jazz Festival is set for 1-7 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at the Winona Lake Heritage Room, 901 Park Ave. The full schedule may be found by going to villageatwinona.com/events/jazz-festival/.

The Winona Lake Family Fest is set for 3-7 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at Winona Lake Limitless Park. For town residents only, it will include bingo at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 5 p.m. as well as bouncy houses, ice cream, face painting and more.

The back-to-school event open to all, the Police Cookout at WLLP, is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8.

The Village at Winona’s Canal Days will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27. The full schedule of events may be found at villageatwinona.com/events/canal-days.

Canal Days includes the cardboard boat race, with people being able to learn how to register for it by visiting the Canal Days link above.

The council’s next meeting is 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Winona Lake Town Hall.