Chesterton Town
Engineer hasn’t heard anything to indicate that the Oct. 17 “substantial
completion” date for the new East Porter Ave. bridge has been or might be
pushed back.
Which means--all
things being equal--that the bridge, and thus East Porter Ave., should open
to traffic by the middle of next month.
This--to be
exact--is what O’Dell told the Redevelopment Commission at its meeting
Monday night: “Oct. 17 is the substantial complete date, plus or minus a few
minor things. It should be open then.”
O’Dell was
responding to Member Jim Ton’s query about when the asphalt will be laid to
repair the swath of East Porter Ave. immediately east of South Calumet Road
ripped up during the course of the project.
Ton also wanted to
know whether some sidewalk on Wilson Street, apparently damaged during the
project, would be replaced.
O’Dell said that
sidewalk restoration--if the town can prove that it happened as a result of
the bridge work--will be a punch list item.
Finally, Ton
wondered whether, in addition to putting a fresh coat of asphalt on East
Porter Ave. west of the bridge, the contractor can do the same east of the
bridge as far as Wilson Street, to make the road surface on that stretch of
East Porter Ave. nice and uniform.
O’Dell said that
he’d speak to the contractor but suggested that Ton not hold his breath,
particularly because it would be on the town’s dime.
And as Town
Attorney Chuck Lukmann added, it’s unlikely the commission could legally use
tax increment financing funds for that bit of asphalt patch, inasmuch as
East Porter Ave. is not actually in the TIF district.
Welcome Aboard
President Jeff
Trout took a moment at the end of the meeting to welcome aboard the
commission’s newest member: John Swibes, who fills the vacancy left by Paul
Tharp’s resignation.
Although, Trout
told Swibes, the commission’s meetings are “about as exciting as watching
paint dry,” nevertheless “there a lot of significant business that needs to
be done by this board.”