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Closing time here for entire section of Washington Street
D-Day has arrived for the Greencastle driving public.
That’s D-Day as in Detour Day Downtown.
Tuesday -- June 18 -- is the day the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will totally close down U.S. 231/Washington Street through the heart of the city -- for possibly 137 days.
According to a letter from Scott J. Chandler, capital program management director for INDOT’s Crawfordsville District, completion date for the work is now listed as Nov. 1 for the Washington Street stage of the overall project.
At the June City Council meeting, Greencastle Mayor Lynda Dunbar announced Tuesday as the official date for the total closure that will run from the intersection of Bloomington and Washington streets, around the Putnam County Courthouse to Franklin Street.
“The worst is yet to come,” Councilman Darrel Thomas suggested, expressing perhaps the frustration of most local drivers.
The official detour -- essentially designed to keep semi traffic out of the affected area and of little use to local traffic -- is over U.S. 36, State Road 75, State Road 240 and U.S. 40.
INDOT has announced the “unofficial detour” as Frazier Street to Madison Street to Walnut Street to South Jackson Street and down to Veterans Memorial Highway for southbound traffic and in reverse for northbound vehicles. The INDOT letter notes that the unofficial route will not be signed as a detour.
“We really encourage people to use the (unofficial) detour,” the mayor said, adding that Bloomington Street will be open as far north as Walnut Street.
That means northbound semis wanting to go eastbound, if they get that far, will have to turn onto either Walnut or Seminary streets, while northbound semis caught in that traffic and desiring to go westbound will likely use Seminary since Walnut Street is one-way eastbound west of Bloomington Street.
Dunbar reported that INDOT has agreed to reimburse the city for costs related to damage repairs on the unofficial detour. For example, she said, “if one of the sewerlines gets crushed, INDOT will take care of that.”
Any other streets damaged by wayward vehicles looking for the points of least resistance will be on the city to repair.
City officials will have to sign the agreement with INDOT, which Dunbar hopes “to beef up in the next few days.”
“We know our councilors have gotten complaints about semis being on streets they shouldn’t be,” the mayor said. “The semis have to be able to get to our businesses though. Semis are just going to be on city streets they shouldn’t be until this gets done.”
Closing the road entirely has been necessitated by the need to replace a 100-year-old sewerline that construction crews from Rieth-Riley encountered during the work. Efforts to move the old clay-like line resulted in it breaking apart and requiring replacement. The sewerline location does not leave enough room for a full lane of traffic to be open, prompting the total closure of Washington Street.
The project is “a little bit behind schedule,” Dunbar advised the Council, acknowledging it is important the project be done correctly and on time, despite knowing it’s an inconvenience to local residents and businesses.
“Everyone can get to the back of the stores,” the mayor said of the local businesses along Washington Street and the south side of the square. “I would ask people to go downtown and support them. I’ve heard one business say they’ve had their worst day ever and another say they had their best day ever.”
INDOT will try to keep the sidewalks open, Dunbar said, except for the one at Vine Street which will be closed at times due to the sewerline location.