SOUTH BEND — A regional transportation plan that looks ahead to 2045 identifies more than 60 miles worth of potential road projects in Elkhart County.
The Michiana Area Council of Governments published its draft long-range plan for transportation this month. The “Michiana on the Move: 2045 Transportation Plan” looks at the infrastructure demands that come with potential growth in the region, including Elkhart and surrounding counties, over the next few decades.
The plan is available at move2045.macog.com. The organization is accepting public feedback until Oct. 2, before the draft plan is presented for the approval of the MACOG Policy Board on Oct. 11.
Long-range plan
“Michiana on the Move” is a long-range plan that identifies the current conditions of the regional transportation network, assesses future needs and establishes priorities that can inform policies and transportation projects, according to information from MACOG. The plan covers the MACOG region, which includes Elkhart, Kosciusko, Marshall and St. Joseph counties in Indiana.
It looks at not only roads and their use by commuters, public transit and cargo transportation, but also at other major methods of transportation in the region including airways, railroads and bike paths. MACOG used potential future scenarios to understand how new housing developments and industrial growth could affect the regional transportation network, which helped planners evaluate the effectiveness of multiple projects and prioritize them.
The plan is subject to updates over time in response to changing conditions and needs.
Going through the planning process creates a better plan for future investments and growth for the region’s transportation system, according to MACOG Executive Director James Turnwald.
“We are not trying to predict the future, but we need to consider the varying ways in which our region might grow,” he said in MACOG’s announcement of the draft. “When looking ahead 20 to 25 years, the plan needs to be realistic to current trends, but flexible enough to adapt with regional needs.”
Charlie McKenzie, manager of transportation with the Elkhart County Highway Department, said MACOG involved their staff heavily when developing the plan. He said the regional transportation council has been invaluable in identifying funding opportunities for local needs.
“MACOG does a great job of getting multiple government agencies in the same room to discuss priority projects while developing this plan, while taking into consideration regional growth factors across municipal boundaries,” he said.
Heavy mileage
The plan anticipates a nearly 10 percent increase in the population of the region over the next 25 years. That would take the population in and around Elkhart County from just over 600,000 people as of 2018 to about 659,000 by 2045.
Looking at employment, the plan notes that job growth in Elkhart County outpaces the rest of the region, at 20 percent compared to 11 percent, since 2009. It also reversed the nearly 15 percent job loss in the county prior to 2009.
Based on tax return data, the plan shows that a little over 82 percent of Elkhart and St. Joseph workers have jobs in their own county. Among the rest, a third travel between the two counties and others commute to neighboring counties.
There is a net gain of commuter flow into Elkhart County, at a total of almost 30,000 workers. That includes 8,608 coming down from Michigan, 11,863 from St. Joseph County and 4,249 from Kosciusko.
Despite the traffic flow, commute times in the region are lower than the national mean of 25.4 minutes. Elkhart County has the shortest mean travel time to work, at 19.4 minutes, and a large share of workers have a commute time of between 15 and 19 minutes.
The plan also looks at commuters who bike or walk, and addresses current facilities and future needs. Elkhart County commuters walk less than the national rate but are more likely to bike to work, the study shows.
The movement of freight on the road is expected to increase alongside other forms of traffic. Statewide, the freight flow is expected to grow by close to 60 percent in the next 20 years.
The MACOG region has more than 6,548 miles of pavement, which includes national, state and local roads. Use of the roads has increased from 16.9 million miles traveled daily in 2015 to 17.4 million daily miles in 2018.
The latest numbers show that 4.9 million of those miles are driven in Elkhart County. MACOG’s plan considers the maintenance cost, traffic congestion, vehicle emissions and potential for crashes that come with the increased mileage.
Proposed projects
The plan lists more than 60 proposed projects in Elkhart County, ranging from intersection improvements to miles of new road construction. They were chosen as ways to reduce current and future congestion, support more choice in modes of transportation and fill gaps in the existing network.
The list includes near-term projects such as intersection improvements the Indiana Department of Transportation is making along U.S. 6, U.S. 33 and S.R. 15. Other near-term projects include building a railroad overpass on Hively Avenue in Elkhart, finishing the Bristol bypass project and improving North Tomahawk Trail in Nappanee before 2025.
Plans further out include new road construction on C.R. 17 between C.R.s 142 and 38 by 2030 and adding auxiliary lanes to C.R. 20, between S.R. 19 and U.S. 33, by 2035. Projects farthest out, expected by 2045, include new road construction on Orchard Park Drive down to S.R. 19 in Wakarusa and auxiliary lanes on C.R. 16 between S.R. 13 and County Line Road near Middlebury.
The plan makes note of potential impacts of many of the road projects, both on existing infrastructure and water resources. It also lists hazardous materials that could be involved, based on preliminary research.
While forming the 2045 plan, MACOG also identified more than 20 new bicycle and walking trail projects that could be added to its 2016 Active Transportation Plan. They are ranked from low priority, such as adding bike lanes to C.R. 1 between C.R.s 12 and 10, to high priority, such as adding a multi-use path to Benham Avenue in Elkhart between Mishawaka Road and Hively Avenue.
The Elkhart Truth
Jordan Fouts
09/26/2019