A road project originally planned to be finished in November 2018 is now expected to be complete by Memorial Day.
Poor weather conditions have led to a delay in completing improvements to N. Range Line Road between 8th Street and Clay Terrace. The project began in August 2018 and includes upgrades to the roundabout at 8th Street and Range Line Road, improved pedestrian connectivity and installation of a stormwater collection system.
“It would be nice to control the weather, but we haven’t figured that out yet in Carmel,” Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said. “(The project) fell behind because of the number of rain days and cool days.”
Several small business owners in the area have expressed frustration with the length of the project and difficulty for customers to reach them. Currently, Range Line Road is closed to southbound traffic in the project area. Previously it had been closed in the opposite direction.
Work on the project stopped during the winter months, and traffic was open in both directions during that time.
Brainard has acknowledged the inconvenience road projects play for small businesses in the short term, but he believes they ultimately prove to be a benefit.
“This project is important to a lot of small businesses. On that part of Range Line Road the businesses have flooded over and over again,” Brainard said. “This project has fixed that.”
Once the project is complete, Brainard said he hopes insurance rates will go down for businesses in the area, and he expects that private sector investment will increase.
