A proposed new truck route in the Nucor Road corridor is moving forward.
The Indiana Department of Transportation is reviewing a report submitted by American Structurepoint, the firm hired by the Montgomery County Redevelopment Commission to design the project, county engineer Jim Peck said during Wednesday’s virtual commission meeting.
The envisioned route would direct truck traffic surrounding Nucor Steel to C.R. 300S, leading drivers to Interstate 74 at C.R. 200S, according to a map of the plans. Construction would be broken into phases.
Plans begin with the construction of an interim truck bypass. The rest of the project would require state and federal funding.
The planned route is one of a series of projects underway to attract more industries to the Nucor area.
They include a proposed overpass at U.S. 136 and Nucor Road to ease truck congestion at the intersection and extending water lines to the corridor.
A completed two-phase sewer project connected the Nucor Road Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Chigger Hollow addition and extended lines to run along State Road 32 from the Interstate 74 interchange west to the Walnut Hills addition.
Separately, the Regional Sewer & Water District is working on a plan to expand the capacity of the wastewater treatment plant in anticipation of future development in the corridor.
Economic development consultant Cheryl Morphew said lead activity “increased substantially” in August as the county works to get on companies’ radars through a new website and seeking to hire a marketing firm.
“You guys have done a lot of great work in planning and building and now it’s time to get the word spread beyond our boundaries,” Morphew told the commission, to attract new jobs.
In other business, the commission:
• Announced that this year’s stakeholders meeting will be held virtually. A date has not yet been set.
