WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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The Bloomington Board of Public Works is offering financial incentives to contractors, in an attempt to expedite construction projects.
City of Bloomington Planning Director Adam Wason said the city and county will split the cost of an incentive package for contractor CLR Construction to complete a Monroe County bridge project on Country Club Dr. before the original completion date of July 26.
Wason said the intent is to minimize overlap with the city’s sewer interceptor project at Walnut and Grimes. Road closures and detours from the two projects are complicating travel in the city’s southwest quadrant. The City Utilities Department is also paying to accelerate the Walnut and Grimes sewer project. It involves laying 12,000 feet of new sewer pipe on the west side of Walnut St., to alleviate sewer overflows in the area.
The project doesn’t have an official start date, but Engineering Technician Liz Carter said travelers can expect road closures between June 4 – August 3.
Wason said the new lane configurations means Bloomington Transit will add a stop at South Walnut and Dixie. County and city officials, along with representatives from Bloomington Transit, MCCSC schools, and Perry Township, were in conversation for weeks about the potential impacts of the two projects. Wason said a main concern is getting the Grimes and Walnut sewer project completed before 3,200 MCCSC kids go back to school on August 8. With incentives for early completion, he said the best case scenario is the two projects would overlap for two to three weeks in June.
Wason said a third project – intersection improvements at Tapp and Rockport roads – is slated to begin June 10.
Wason said because of the funding source, the Tapp-Rockport intersection must be completed and reopened by mid-November. Wason says travel on the southside of Bloomington will be stressful this summer. He recommends South-side residents avoid peak travel times, and explore the possibility of ‘flex time’ with employers.
