Work requires total closure of U.S. 231

The sight of vehicles passing alongside the active work on U.S. 231 along Washington and Jackson streets will soon become a thing of the past, as INDOT is set to announce the total closure of 231 in Greencastle for the duration of work on Washington Street. Replacement of a 100-plus-year-old sewer line has been added to the work being undertaken.

Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

The presence of outdated sewer lines will force the complete closure of U.S. 231 in Greencastle later this summer.

On Thursday afternoon, Greencastle Mayor Lynda Dunbar announced that official word will be coming from the Indiana Department of Transportation in the next few weeks that U.S. 231 will be completely shut down from the intersection of Bloomington Street and Washington Street all the way west to the Putnam County Courthouse and one block north on Jackson Street to Franklin.

The closure will remain in place until the Washington Street section of the project is completed.

Up until now, one-way northbound traffic on U.S. 231 has been maintained since the current phase of the project began in early April.

INDOT determined in May that the city had sewer lines that were more than 100 years old and needed to be replaced before the road is completed.

“They remembered we had a 100-year-old water line,” the mayor told the Greencastle Rotary Club last week, “but forgot we also have a 100-year-old sewer line.”

During the same meeting, Dunbar noted that when the construction crew from Rieth-Riley tried to deal with that sewer line “it just kept breaking” because it was “brittle and old” and comprised of some crumbling clay substance.

Dunbar said Thursday that an agreement between the city and INDOT is in the works for a cost share on the sewer line project.

“This is a real saving to the utility customers,” Dunbar said, before adding, “The location of the sewer line does not leave enough space for a lane of traffic to be open on Washington Street.”

Dunbar said she knows the latest development brings more inconvenience to the citizens of Greencastle but added that she wants the work to be done correctly and on time.

“The project is currently running behind schedule, but with closing down the entire roadway, it enables the contractors to make up some real time and finish close to the initial completion date,” Dunbar said.

Further maps of INDOT official detours will be released when the city receives paperwork.