State Road 46 East between Nashville and Columbus will be repaved this summer and into early fall.
Fifteen miles will be milled and resurfaced between the Nashville CVS Pharmacy and the Tipton Lakes Boulevard area in Columbus.
Work was to start at Tipton Lakes Boulevard May 14, said Harry Maginity, spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Transportation. Traffic was to shift to a single lane in each direction after barricades were put in place. Work in that area is scheduled to last for about 24 days, he said.
Patching will be done where needed on the full length of the project, as well as asphalt paving and road, street and driveway approaches. Flaggers will be stationed at these work sites. Full-depth concrete repairs also could begin in mid-May, Maginity said.
Once milling and resurfacing begin, drivers will experience delays where the “paving train” is rolling. Again, flaggers will direct drivers around that moving worksite, INDOT reported.
Normal traffic flow is to resume by Sept. 15 according to the contract, INDOT said.
The traffic count on State Road 46 between I-65 and State Road 135 in downtown Nashville is 9,070 vehicles per day.
The Nashville Town Council has been working with INDOT to see what improvements can be made to 46 East in conjunction with the repaving. The town’s list of 24 suggestions includes adding a sidewalk along State Road 46 between The Seasons and CVS, adding a traffic light at the state park gate, and adding a bike lane from the park to town, said Nashville Town Manager Scott Rudd. As of May 17, the town was waiting to hear back from INDOT on what can and can’t be done, he said.
Bridge projects in the works
The bridge currently under construction on State Road 46 East near the State Road 135 South intersection is on track to be completed “within days.” That’s the report Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner gave the county commissioners on May 16. The Indiana Department of Transportation has been working at that site since April 16. Temporary traffic lights have caused backups in traffic flow.
Soon after that project is done, workers will start on another project on State Road 46 West at Bond Cemetery/Shipley Hollow roads, in the area of Mike’s Dance Barn. A large box culvert will be placed at that site. A temporary traffic light will be set up there as well, INDOT reported. That project was estimated to start after Memorial Day.
