Huntingburg expects long overdue overpass will create a safer city and stimulate economic growth

Huntingburg — In a special meeting on Monday, Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner, Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann, representatives from the Indiana Department of Transportation, and other elected officials announced the future construction of a railroad overpass in the city.

“There’s an old saying that only two things are for certain in life, death and taxes,” Mayor Spinner said. “In Huntingburg there has always been a third thing for sure, getting stopped by the railroad. Huntingburg is a railroad town and we’re proud of it. And being stopped on Main by the train has always been a part of everyday life. But it has become more than just an inconvenience, it’s a safety issue, an economics issue, and a quality of life issue.”

Spinner stated the overpass will make Huntingburg safer and more economically viable by creating a way for traffic to flow through town more effectively. The approximately 30 trains that pass through town daily will no longer be an everyday annoyance for the residents and impediment to safety services such as fire, emergency medical services, and police.

“What an exciting development for all those who live, who work, and who travel through Huntingburg,” Lt. Gov. Ellspermann said. “The building of an overpass will solve significant safety issues and reduce long, frustrating delays. This infrastructure improvement will improve both the quality of life and the economic development opportunities of Huntingburg and southwest Indiana.”

Former-mayor Connie Nass stated she was excited about the announcement. She served on the Huntingburg Common Council for eight years before becoming mayor in 1988. “This has been a goal for Huntingburg since I was mayor and even when I was on the council,” said Nass. “I am excited because it invites all types of opportunity for I-67, it will pull industry to the west side of town, and relieve truck traffic from U.S. 231.”

The potential route could incorporate Styline Drive, creating an overpass over the railroad tracks before tying into 14th Street — where the Huntingburg Event Center is located — and connecting to U.S. 231. “The preliminary plan calls for us improving Styline Drive where the overpass begins” said INDOT spokeswoman Cher Elliot, “and then connecting to 14th Street because it has already been improved. It will be a couple of miles of new road and improvements including the overpass”

Actual construction is slated to begin the fiscal year of 2017, which runs from July of 2016 to June 30 of 2017. “It is slated to begin December of 2016 and actual construction should take two construction seasons,” Elliot explained. “and be in operation by the fall or winter of 2018.”

Several steps have to be taken before construction can begin; a consultant for the project will be selected and contracts signed (this should happen within a month), funding approvals will be sought, first stage design completed, preliminary field check, a public hearing about the site and project, an environmental study will be commissioned and completed, railway and utilities will have to be coordinated, the right-of-ways will be acquired, final designs and package submission, and then final contractor selection.

The Huntingburg Redevelopment Commission will be meeting tonight at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall to make a declaratory resolution to commit local funding to the project. The city and county will combine to commit 20 percent of the project cost and the state will fund the remaining 80 percent.

INDOT Chief of Staff Troy Woodruff  stated these partnerships are essential for completing large infrastructure projects like the overpass. “Partnering with the city is critical in the continuation of infrastructure improvements which in turn allows for economic growth opportunities.”

Mayor Spinner held up a bible during the meeting today and explained it was given to him as a gift from a resident of Vincennes during a retreat. “Vincennes is another railroad city and he told me he would keep a bible in his car. Every time he was stopped by a train in Vincennes he would pull it out and read,” Mayor Spinner said while he held up the well-worn bible, “This bible has been in my glovebox since that time and you can see its been used a few times at the railroad crossings here in Huntingburg. I think it had an impact on what we are doing here today, in fact I would like to believe that. This project will give me an opportunity to read it at another location. I’ll continue to read it but maybe not so much in my car.”