The first phase of the project in Marshall County is the construction of bridges on the Plymouth/Goshen Trail and 6th and Lilac Road. Motorists have certainly noticed slowed traffic and detours in the area but they may not have to worry about them all that much longer.
“This has been a pretty fast project. They’re saying they should be done by early fall, definitely by winter time,” said Haeck. “They’re better equipped and they move a lot faster on bridges these days.”
Meanwhile grading and earth moving has begun between U.S. 6 and S.R. 4. Sections of Tyler, Lilac and Linden Roads are affected by the work.
“That’s road preparation work there,” said Haeck. “They’re moving dirt and that sort of thing north into St. Joe County.”
The main concern for the speed of the project was the possible presence of a protected species of bat in the area. If any are sighted at dusk, the project will have to wait until all the animals are captured and relocated to a new area.
While the initial work in Marshall County is expected to be complete by the fall, the projection for completion on the new U.S. 31 is the year 2015. The project includes sections in Ham-ilton and Howard Counties as well as Marshall and St. Joseph.
You can learn more and keep track of the progress of the project by visiting the Web site
www.us31plysb.com .
