Bob Friddle, left, a Warsaw resident, questioned whether a decision on the future route for US 30 has been made. He was told all options remain on the table for the Indiana Department of Transportation. InkFreeNews photos by Dan Spalding.

By Dan Spalding
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — State officials expect a large crowd for the next public meeting in Warsaw that will take another look at options for a future limited-access highway through Kosciusko County.

On Friday, Nov. 18, consultants working for the Indiana Department of Transportation held a meeting in Warsaw as they continue to gather comments. The gathering at Warsaw Community Public Library was seen as a warm-up of what’s expected at an upcoming meeting on Dec. 6 at Lincoln Elementary School, where engineers will present a slew of maps covering many of the aspects in the proposal to reconstruct US 30.

Around 50 people were at Friday’s meeting at the library, where officials asked the public to identify potential issues of concern. The state specifically hopes to identify little-known issues that could become problematic if not detected early. Those range from historic farms, old churches, cemeteries and schools, said Erin Pipkin, owner of Compass Outreach Solutions of Mooresville, who hosted the meeting.

But much of what the crowd discussed were questions about how certain intersections – specifically Parker Street and Center Street – will be addressed.

Creating a limited access highway means the closure of all intersections and the reliance on highway interchanges and overpasses as well as extensive frontage roads.

Pipkin’s role is to receive and document comments and concerns, and she received plenty Friday morning. Later in the day, she hosted another meeting in Columbia City.

At one point, a man in the audience, Bob Friddle, a Warsaw resident, pulled out a map that was part of a flyer showing an outline of a specific route and asked if that had been decided.

Pipkin said nothing has been decided. “Everything’s on the table,” she said.

Questions were voiced on a range of issues, but much of the concern focused on existing intersections along 30 that might be closed and the use of frontage roads that will be needed to provide road access to properties that would be otherwise cut off with a limited access highway.

One person asked about the amount of right of way that would be needed. Pipkin said engineers often design new highways with a smaller median to reduce the amount of land needed for right-of-way control.

Another person asked about frontage roads and feared that much of the traffic would be channeled onto frontage roads. Pipkin said engineers would work to avoid that.

Numerous people spoke on behalf of the rights of farm property and the need to protect the environment.

The Dec. 6 meeting will provide numerous large maps highlighting three potential paths of the future highway crossing through the Warsaw area. One path would go to the south, another to the north and a third option would closely follow the existing path.

Based on the number of comments already received, Pipkin is predicting a big turnout on Dec. 6 – possibly as many as 400 people. A very similar meeting held in August of 2019 at Lincoln Elementary also attracted hundreds of people.

Pipkin mentioned that another project facing a wetlands issue was able to rely on an elevated highway. Such a move could be considered to address numerous intersections in Warsaw, and the issue could come up on Dec. 6.

She pointed out that I-70 in Indianapolis is one continuous elevated highway for a long stretch.

The Dec. 6 meeting is the first of four scheduled by the state, with the meetings scheduled in six-month intervals.

The city of Warsaw issued a news release Friday about the upcoming meeting, which will look more at the process of determining a route and considering environmental issues. Future meeting topics will include the purpose and need analysis reveal, alternatives reveal, and the final report discussion, the news release said.

“These meetings are critical to the process. Residents and business owners are encouraged to visit Propelus30.com where they can sign up for email notification updates. Eventually, residents and business owners will also be able to leave comments about the project on this website,” the city statement said. 

Lincoln Elementary is at 203 N. Lincoln St. The Dec. 6 meeting begins at 5 p.m. and is expected to continue for two hours.

Ryan Elainska stood to talk about the importance of bicycle traffic in the growing community of Warsaw and how that might be affected by the future reconstruction of US 30.

Upward of 50-60 people attended Friday’s meeting at the Warsaw Community Public Library. More showed up after this photo was taken.