INDOT hosting public information meeting for the US 33 project in Elkhart County

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. -- Elkhart County could be seeing some major road improvements along a well-traveled area in. On March 4 at 6:30 p.m., INDOT will host a public information meeting for community members to attend and see the project ideas. This meeting gives the community to provide feedback through written and verbal statements ahead of the meeting. This is one of the first steps of the process; the community can also expect a public hearing where they can also voice their opinions ahead of construction starting.

The project will begin along US 33 starting at the intersection of C.R. 31 and will stretch over to the Elkhart River Bridge. Hunter Petroviak, the PR Director of INDOT's Northeast District, says, “The overall goal of this project is to reduce traffic in the area, improve safety throughout this corridor, and also improve storm water drainage. So, what that project could entail would be things like widening the road, adding travel lanes, adding kind of like a multi-use path. So, there's lots of options that are on the table.”

The project will be funded through state and federal grants. According to IN.Gov, over 1000 road projects occur each year in Indiana.

Petroviak says, “You know, we live here in northeast Indiana too, but maybe not just exactly in Goshen. So, we want to hear what people who are using that corridor on a daily basis have to say how they think that our changes might impact them positively or negatively. And I've truthfully seen it myself, where we take information from these meetings and rework something in a potential project.”

A layout or timeline of the project has not yet been released but we can expect some lane closures, and sidewalk closures throughout the duration of the project.