City officials plan to make it a bit easier to keep drivers out of a dangerous situation.
Q. We live at Lake Avenue and St. Joseph Boulevard. We have people go down Lake the wrong way several times a day. Are there any plans to improve the signage at this intersection? Susan Mellott, Fort Wayne
A. Driving the wrong way down a one-way street can be one of the scariest and most dangerous acts a motorist can do – drivers coming from the other direction simply aren’t expecting oncoming traffic.
Fortunately, Susan, the city plans to make this area safer.
Shan Gunawardena, city traffic engineer, said the city will be changing some signs on the overhead structure heading east to more clearly define what lane to be in when entering Columbia Avenue or St. Joseph Boulevard.
He said the signs will be changed within the next few weeks, which should alleviate some of these concerns.
Lima Road update
While I had a little fun at the fact the state had a ribbon cutting before Lima Road was completed a few weeks ago, drivers should be experiencing much better travel now.
Toni Mayo, spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Transportation, said all road striping is complete and the lanes are open. Some signal and other work remains, which should be substantially complete by Friday. A final inspection will be held in early December to note any problems so they can be fixed before the end of the year. When that is done, the construction signs will finally come down.
The state spent $26 million to widen Lima Road to three travel lanes in each direction from Ludwig Road to Dupont Road.
St. Joe Center work
Allen County will begin rehabilitating the St. Joe Center Road Bridge, which is just west of St. Joe Road, on Monday. The project will close one travel lane in each direction until August.
Initially, westbound traffic will be shifted to the south side of the bridge, allowing crews to widen the foundation of the bridge, add beams and replace the deck. In addition, a trail will be added to the north side of the bridge that will go under the structure on the west side. The first phase is expected to be finished in June.
During the second phase, traffic will be shifted to the north side of the bridge so the sidewalk and deck can be replaced on the south. Crews will also add LED lights at this time. R.L. McCoy, of Columbia City, is doing the work for $3.4 million, slightly less than the county’s estimate for the work.
Radio Sage
This week’s bonus audio question comes from Tom Stasko, who asks about shrinking Lake Avenue. The segment originally aired Friday afternoon on WOWO and can be found online at www.journalgazette.net/roadsage.
