A new signal will be installed this year to help southwest Fort Wayne drivers navigate their way.
Q. What is going to happen to the traffic problem at Hadley Road, Covington Road and Dicke Road?– Dot Coleman
A. You should expect improvements in the area in the coming year, Dot.
Shan Gunawardena, city traffic engineer, said the city will install a traffic signal at the intersection of Dicke and Covington. In addition, a left-turn lane will be added for westbound traffic to turn south onto Dicke and repairs will be made to the bridge over Interstate 69.
Nearly 14,000 vehicles a day use Covington between Dicke and Hadley.
Construction for the expected $1.1 million project is expected to take place this fall. The city is currently working with the state on engineering services costing $138,325.
In the meantime, the city plans to check the signals in the area to ensure the traffic sensors work properly. Let’s hope this will provide some sanity in waiting for the larger fix.
Striping update
The Indiana Department of Transportation completed the striping work on Northland Boulevard. As was previously addressed in my column, this work separates the road into two lanes heading east off Lima Road, when before it was difficult to tell whether it should be one or two. Enjoy the clarity.
County delays
Two large Allen County highway projects have been delayed nearly a year because of unrelated problems.
Construction to improve Gump Road from Indiana 3 to Coldwater has been pushed back from this spring to possibly 2013. The county discovered drain problems with the $10.1 million project in the Huntertown area and is deciding how those will be handled.
The plan to improve Coverdale Road from Airport Expressway to Indianapolis Road was also pushed back from this year to next. The $5.9 million project had utility issues, including a Fort Wayne lift station.
Clinton delays begin
Drivers should be aware that Clinton Street will be closed beginning Monday to allow crews to install the overhead steel arches on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge. The closure is expected to last about two weeks, weather permitting.
When the bridge reopens, one of the three lanes will be restricted for up to three months for continued work on the bridge. A full story on the closure and detour routes will be in Monday’s Journal Gazette.
Radio Sage
This week’s bonus audio question comes from Wendy, who asked about Baker Street downtown. The segment originally aired Friday afternoon on WOWO and can be heard online at www.journalgazette.net/roadsage.
