It won’t be too long before motorists will have a second option for getting around trains traveling through Seymour.
The first phase of the Burkart South Bypass project, which includes a railroad overpass, is nearly 70% complete, project officials said.
City engineer Bernie Hauersperger recently reported the project was 67% finished and crews with Milestone Contractors of Columbus would begin setting beams across the overpass in early April.
“Phase 1 construction on Burkart seems to be getting a little jump start with the nice weather, so that has been really good,” he said.
Construction on the $17.23 million project started in April 2020, and although work slowed down during the winter, it did not completely stop, said project engineer Jeff Logman with WSP.
Besides the overpass, the first phase includes 2.3 miles of new road taking Burkart Boulevard south through farm ground over the Louisville and Indiana Railroad near Silgan Plastics and connecting it to South O’Brien Street at the new roundabout.
Also included in the project is a 12-foot-wide multipurpose trail along the entire length of the new road, giving people a safe way to walk or ride a bicycle to reach their destination.
The trail is part of Seymour’s ongoing efforts to connect areas through a network of trails promoting exercise and alternate means of transportation. The city also is funding a $1 million trail along U.S. 50 from Agrico Lane east to U.S. 31 as part of the state’s ongoing work to reconstruct East U.S. 50.
Although some people may think the Burkart bypass project should be further along, Hauersperger said getting out of the ground is the most difficult part.
“And we’ve done that,” he said.
After the beams are installed, Hauersperger said the road surface over the bridge will go down along with striping and signage.
Lights already have been installed along the route, he added.
“It seems to be going really smoothly,” he said
Once the beams go up, it will look more like an overpass and less of an Evel Knievel stunt, Hauersperger said.
Most of the first phase is expected to be finished in October, but Milestone has until the beginning of June 2022 to complete the whole project.
Phase 2, which soon will be under construction, will extend the new road west to South Walnut Street, where another roundabout is planned, and then through Freeman Field Industrial Park to Airport Road, where a third roundabout will be constructed at the intersection with G Avenue.
The state received two bids from local contractors to construct the second phase. Milestone bid the project at $8.18 million while North Vernon-based Dave O’Mara Contractor’s bid was the lowest at $7.45 million.
Hauersperger said the engineer’s estimated cost was $8.5 million, putting the bids well below that amount.
“But the engineer’s estimate wasn’t the budget,” he said. “Somehow, the engineer got way over budget.”
Fortunately, O’Mara’s bid is just a few hundred thousand dollars below the project budget, he added.
“So we’re still good,” he said. “We should be fine with what we originally budgeted, which will keep us at the 20% match.”
That means the city will pay $1.69 million for its share of the cost for the second phase.
The third phase of the project, which consisted of reconstruction of Airport Road from West Tipton Street to G Avenue, cost $1.8 million and was completed by O’Mara last fall.
Total, the Burkart South Bypass is costing around $30 million with 20% or around $6 million coming from the Seymour Redevelopment Commission. The bulk of the expense is being paid for through federal transportation grants through the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The goal of the bypass is threefold: To help alleviate the amount of semi traffic passing through the city on U.S. 50, to give motorists, especially emergency vehicles, a much-needed option to get around trains coming through the city and to open up the southern area for future development and growth.