by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: Commentaries by Fred Swift are posted on LarryInFishers.com through a partnership with the Hamilton County Reporter)

Hamilton County motorists who drive 146th Street and wish to head south on Keystone toward Indianapolis should be happy to hear that a new section of roadway to access southbound Keystone from 146th will be well underway by this time next year.

The elevated link, sometimes called a ‘flyover’ will be less than a half-mile long, but will make a critical link essentially extending Lowe’s Way to the south over northbound Keystone and then curve into the southbound lanes of Keystone where drivers encounter no stoplights until reaching 96th Street.

(Currently it is more difficult to get onto the popular parkway, with motorists having to use 151st Street in order to get on U.S. 31 which has an exit for Keystone.)

County Highway Director Brad Davis prefers to call the project a Lowe’s Way extension. Bids will be taken in February, and likely be awarded in March. He reports that about $4 million in federal funds will help pay the estimated $12 million cost of the Lowe’s Way connection.

A second, future phase of the project will take the improvement to the north end of existing Range Line Road to allow direct access from 146th to Range Line, the main route into downtown Carmel. There is also good news for the highway department from Purdue University estimates of revenue coming to the county from the state increase in gas tax and other fees adopted by state legislation this year.

Davis said estimates show about $3 million next year for the county. Actual disbursements will reportedly start in August of this year, and would appear to amount to something over $1 million yet this year. This money is for the county unit only, and does not include disbursements to the eight cities and towns in Hamilton County. The formula used for these additional payments is the same that is used for disbursement of currently allocated gas tax revenues.