By Heather Lusk
The intersection of Oak Street and Kissel Road should have a traffic light by the end of the year, town officials said.
The goal is to complete the project in 2016 according to Lance Lantz, superintendent of Zionsville’s Street and Stormwater department. The traffic signal and several other improvements are moving forward thanks to savings on other projects and a $1 million grant from the state.
“We had good pricing on other projects, so we have identified money that’s now available this year,” Lantz said. “We’re capitalizing on that savings to move forward on these projects ahead of what we had planned to do.”
The other project that is ahead of schedule is the expansion of the pedestrian crossing at the Oak Street and Ford Road intersection so that all four legs will be accessible by pedestrians. New sidewalks will be constructed to connect to existing ones in the area along with pedestrian signals.
Four projects will be funded in part from a $1 million state grant.
“It’s a $1 million gift,” Lantz said. “The grant that we were awarded is the maximum that any community can receive.”
The grant stipulates that the town match the amount received, which will be done with money that wasn’t yet budgeted from the special local option income tax fund.
One of the projects funded through the grant – the repaving of County Road 975 – should be completed within the next month. Three others will begin next year: the reconstruction of Village Walk Drive, a roundabout at Mulberry and Ford roads and the resurfacing and repair of the old 334 corridor. The 334 project involves the repair of sidewalks and curbs and extends along Oak, First and Sycamore streets from Zionsville’s Town Hall to Lion’s Park.
