Jasper holds informational meeting on Mill Street expansion

The City of Jasper plans to upgrade approximately seven blocks of Mill Street between 30th Street and 36th Street beginning in 2028.

The city, in conjunction with the contracted planning and engineering firm, Lochmueller Group, held an informational meeting on Wednesday evening, revealing the plans for the facelift.

As the meeting began, Mayor Dean Vonderheide informed the crowd, which was primarily comprised of members of the coalition against the Mid-States Corridor, that the Mill Street project was not related to the Mid-States Corridor.

“If you are here because you think this is a Mid-States Corridor discussion, I’m sorry, you are mistaken,” Vonderheide said. “This is a Mill Street project.”

Vonderheide further explained that the city had been working with the Lochmueller Group on the design and grant applications for the project for several years.

According to Nicole Minton, a spokesperson for the Lochmueller Group, the project aims to enhance safety, increase accessibility, and improve traffic flow. The unveiled plans include wider lanes and upgrades to curbs and storm drains.

She stated that the improvements provide an opportunity to support the industry in the area, relieve some congestion on U.S. 231, and create better connections to 36th Street and 47th Street through the already improved section of Mill Street, which begins at 36th Street.

“We’ll also be improving the shoulders and adding some road profiling to improve some of the areas where the line of sight and the visibility is lacking,” Minton said.

The project is partially funded through a federal highway grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation. The city received about $2.8 million through the grant and has committed about $842,000 in matching funds.

Work on the road is expected to begin in 2028, with planning and engineering beginning now. Right-of-way procurement for road expansion is scheduled for 2026, with the bid letting set for 2027.

According to City Attorney Renee Kabrick, the city began considering the improvement to this section of Mill Street in 2020, with the project officially added to the city’s transportation plan in 2021.

More information on the project, including maps and renderings, will be made available on the city’s website in the future. Residents will also have access to a comment form.

Correction: We originally stated that turn lanes were part of the plan for the road improvements. They are not and the story has been corrected.