Elkhart County contracted Lochmueller to complete its “Area G” CR 4 extension between CR 17 and CR 19 for future economic development. The purpose of the project is to provide an extension of the CR 4 corridor between CR 17 and CR 19 to open new land for development. In mid-2021, during the initial design phase, the County’s site developer identified Amazon’s “Project Winnie” distribution center as imminent. This gave Lochmueller approximately eight months to redesign the project to accommodate Amazon’s 100-acre development size, an anticipated increase in traffic, and to maintain access to the Toll Road Elkhart East entrance. Lochmueller was successful in meeting the challenge, and the project was bid in February 2022 with construction completed on schedule by November 2022.
The design included the realignment of the Elkhart East toll road access, 2 roundabouts, 0.9 miles of roadway, sanitary sewer and lift station design, water main design, lighting design, CR 17 signal improvements, etc. The construction of the roundabout at CR 4 and the Toll Road is a hybrid design including bypass lanes and dual westbound lanes.
The watermain design completed a loop within the City of Elkhart network, constructing approximately 11,800 feet of new water main. Storm sewer improvements for the new roadway included installation of approximately 1,500 feet of pipe and 15 structures. The drainage design included curb turnouts and ditches to minimize the storm sewer installation.
Most of the corridor is located on previously undeveloped land. Construction of the CR 4 extension did not require maintenance of traffic aside from notification of a construction entrance. Reconstruction of the Toll Road access and CR 17 required a phased maintenance of traffic plan. The work included periods of lane restrictions and periods of full closure. Construction of the roadway improvements along CR 19 did require a full closure and detour. The maintenance of traffic plan was completed in coordination with Elkhart County and the ITR to minimize disruption to traffic within the area.
Lochmueller rose to the challenge by remaining flexible throughout the project and having excellent, open lines of communication with all invested stakeholders, including Elkhart County, Amazon, Indiana Toll Road, utility companies, and others. Lochmueller was able to add a second roundabout to accommodate the Amazon facility entrance and future development to the north. Lochmueller also revised the layout of the original Toll Road entrance roundabout in coordination with Amazon, based on increased truck traffic anticipated for the Amazon development. In order for construction to begin and for the project to stay on schedule, Lochmueller did advanced bidding for clearing of the construction site, pipe materials, and the sanitary sewer lift station. This ensured construction began in earnest in April 2022. The short design period and truncated construction schedule required accurate calculations to ensure the correct quantities and the right types of materials were ordered as early and as quickly as possible. While advanced site clearing is common, advanced bidding on lift stations and pipe materials is not. Lochmueller’s ability to procure all the necessary construction materials cemented its success, kept the project on schedule, and the Toll Road traffic flowing.
