When the parent company of King’s Hawaiian doubled the number of jobs they pledged to bring to German Township last June, local officials emphasized a need to speed up related infrastructure improvements.
The speed up is now beginning to happen.
On Monday, the Bartholomew County commissioners agreed to pay $76,500 for the design and engineering of a future railroad crossing next to the offices of the Eastern Bartholomew Water Corp.
The contract is with the Louisville and Indiana Railroad Company, which employs their own designers and engineers for such projects, Bartholomew County highway engineer Danny Hollander said.
Local officials must either use the railroad’s designers and engineers or forget about the road project, Hollander told the commissioners Monday.
State and federal laws generally favor the railroads during disputes regarding roads, the engineer said.
“Railroad tracks don’t cross roads,” Hollander said. “Roads cross railroad tracks.”
Since a key element of infrastructure improvement will be the extension of County Road 700N across a farm field west to Hubler Drive, they must first plan for the new crossing across an already existing track near the intersection of County Road 700N and County Road 200W.
After crossing the track, the future extension of 700N will continue west for about a quarter of a mile to link up with the end of Hubler Drive, commissioner Tony London said.
Hubler, which becomes West Bear Drive, joins with U.S. 31 between the Taylorsville Speedway and Burger King.
An Indiana Infrastructure Development grant will pay $400,000 for a new traffic signal and intersection improvements at U.S. 31 and Bear Drive. In addition, $250,000 have been earmarked on a reconfiguration of radius at Hubler Drive at Bear Lane to facilitate truck turns.
So who is paying for the quarter-mile of new road? The governing group for the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) has already earmarked $1.1 million for the project, as well as for the new railroad crossing.
READI is a state initiative providing funds to 17 regional districts to promote strategic investments in economic growth. Bartholomew, Jennings and Jackson counties are in a district called the South Central Indiana Talent Region, which received $30 million in funding.
Since the READI funds won’t be made available until the first quarter of next year, London said the commissioners will borrow money from their economic development income tax (EDIT) fund and make a reimbursement when the state money becomes available.
Improvements and development are intended to lure more companies to the area south of Interstate 65, as well as serve existing residential and commercial interests. The Bartholomew County Council agreed last December to use $2.7 million from their reserve funds for infrastructure that will include $2.56 million to improve water pressure for fire suppression, as well as $550,000 for new or upgraded sanitary sewers.
A combination of state and local financial resources will provide up to a maximum of $3,746,000 for improvements. That includes $400,000 for a new traffic signal and intersection improvements at U.S. 31 and Bear Drive, as well as $250,000 on a reconfiguration of radius at Hubler Drive at Bear Lane to facilitate truck turns.
