An informational meeting on the final screening step of the ProPEL US 30 study was held in Warsaw on Wednesday, Nov. 20. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Adkins.

By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — A public informational meeting on the final screening step of the ProPEL US 30 study was held at Lincoln Elementary School in Warsaw on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

This meeting was one of several held in northern Indiana in the last week. On Nov. 12, the Indiana Department of Transportation released its Draft Level 3 screening report for proposed alternatives at intersections on both US 30 and US 31. The studies are split into US 30 West, US 30 East, US 31 North, and US 31 South. Kosciusko County is part of the US 30 East study. Citizens can view the US 30 East draft online.

A variety of people attended the meeting, including residents and elected officials. Several stations with representatives from INDOT’s consultant team were set up for the public to ask questions and provide comments on the proposals for each intersection.

US 30 East’s screening results have been broken into 13 planning segments, with 58 packages of improvements developed across the segments.

Rusty Holt, supervising traffic engineer with engineering firm WSP, the company studying US 30 East for INDOT, said all packages for each intersection have been categorized three different ways: eliminated, carried forward, and recommended.

“If one was carried forward, it means the improvement package does meet the purpose or need as established in the study,” said Holt. “However, in comparison to others, the improvement package is considered to have marginal benefits. Recommended packages are considered to be more feasible. They are considered among the best of the packages in the segments and addressing the identified need to eliminate impacts.”

Public feedback will be received by INDOT on the studies through Dec. 13. Citizens are encouraged to submit comments online or by mail to: Attn: ProPEL US 30 East Study, WSP USA, 115 W. Washington St. #1270S, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

The study team is also hosting two local community office hour sessions before the comment deadline. The hours and locations are:

• 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, Peabody Public Library, 1160 E. SR 205, Columbia City
• 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, Pierceton Public Library, 101 W. Catholic St., Pierceton

The final step of the ProPEL US 30 East study will be the development and publication of the PEL Study Report, which will be made available for agency and public review. This report is expected to be published in Spring 2025.