A western Allen County road is in line for a major overhaul, but those improvements will take time.
Q. Any news on the intersection of Hadley and Bass roads being changed? Also on the plans to widen Bass between Hadley and Scott Road? – Chris Birkenbeul, Fort Wayne
A. There are plenty of plans in the works for Bass Road, Chris, but you will have to be a little patient.
Mike Green, spokesman for the Allen County commissioners, said the county plans to overhaul the intersections of Bass with Hadley Road and Kroemer Road. Bass Road will be widened to three lanes with a continuous center-turn lane, shoulders and sidewalks or trails between Hillegas Road and Scott Road.
Engineering has begun on this project, but because of cost, construction will be completed in phases over the next several years depending on when money becomes available. The current county plan has the Hadley intersection being done in 2013, the Kroemer intersection being improved in 2014 and the widening occurring between 2016 and 2018.
Bostick finishing
A bridge that has been closed for more than seven years is scheduled to finally reopen this month.
Bill Hartman, Allen County highway director, said the new Bostick Road bridge over the St. Marys River will be finished Oct. 22.
The bridge has been closed since April 2004. Though it carried fewer than 150 cars a day, residents who live near the bridge have said its closing has forced them to travel miles out of their way.
Eventually, the county spent $2.2 million to build a new span.
Deer crashes down
Driving into deer is becoming rarer across the country and in Indiana, according to recently released data from State Farm.
The number of crashes dropped for the third straight year across the country – 7 percent less than last year. In Indiana, the number of crashes is down 11 percent.
According to State Farm, Hoosier drivers placed in the middle nationally in the likelihood of deer collisions. The state placed 25th, with one crash for every 178 drivers. West Virginia drivers were the most likely, with one crash for every 53 drivers. Hawaii had the least amount of crashes, with one for every 6,267 drivers.
There were still plenty of crashes nationwide – nearly 1.1 million last year. Deer crashers happen most frequently in October, November and December – the heart of deer migrating and mating season.
Radio Sage
This week’s bonus audio question comes from Richard McMahan, who asks about Maplecrest Road. The segment originally aired Friday afternoon on WOWO and can be found online at www.journalgazette.net/roadsage.
