by Olivia P. Tucker
Times Reporter
Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) had a public hearing on Wednesday, April 5, about the intersection improvement at Boatman Road and Highway 56. The solution suggested by INDOT is for the intersection to be transformed into a roundabout for the flow of traffic.
The studies that INDOT provided is that between January 1, 2012- March 13, 2017, there have been 34 motor vehicle accidents that have occurred, 56% of those crashes have been right angle and rear-end collisions. The purpose of the roundabout is to reduce accident frequency to a minimum of 35%.
There are also some concerns with the line of sight for vehicles traveling west from Scottsburg. Highway 56 has a curve in the road. That curve causes drivers turning onto the highway from Boatman Road to not be able to see when a car is coming around the curve.
The roundabout is planned to be built in four phases, the first will have the highway remaining open but building and paving a portion of the roundabout to the south. The second phase will start with road closures, closing the south side, and constructing temporary pavement to be used in the third phase. With traffic utilizing the temporary pavement in the third phase on the north side of the roundabout. Finally, in phase 4, Mount Road will turn into a dead-end street, and the roundabout will be useable for all traffic flow.
The roundabout is expected to be completed by the fall of 2026.
INDOT looked into other possible options other than the roundabout, however, options like a stoplight are not feasible due to the line of sight. The road would have to be widened to allow traffic to be able to turn onto Boatman Road and to Highway 56, and that would prevent people who live in the area from being able to get into their homes because of the amount of traffic in the area.
There were concerns from the public in terms of the location of where the roundabout is being constructed. Gary Satterly, pastor of Elevation Church Ministries expressed concerns about the amount of land the church would lose because of the roundabout’s proposed design. The church is located southwest of the intersection and plans to build an auditorium that can seat up to 1,000 people.
Satterly said that if the church lost that land, the parking spaces that are needed to accommodate the auditorium would not be able to be built. He encouraged INDOT to consider building the roundabout more towards the field located southeast of the intersection.
Brian Vincent, resident of Bobwhite Drive, his house is northwest of the intersection said he was all for improving the intersection. However the concern of traffic noise and the lights that would be added to the intersection was something he expressed to be taken into consideration.
INDOT did not respond to any of the public comments during the public hearing but will be addressing the concerns as they will be making final decisions.