By Rusty Nixon
Correspondent

PLYMOUTH — Marshall County will be getting a check from Uncle Sam for a road project.

Senator Evan Bayh’s office informed the county that it had been awarded a grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“We had been working very closely with Congressman Donnelly’s office on this for several years,” said Kevin Overmyer, Marshall County commissioners.

The money — $622,440 — will go toward the 7th Road extension and was awarded by the Federal Highway Administration.

“Of course we have to go through the INDOT (Indiana Department of Trans-portation) process but this should help us get a consultant for the project,” said Overmyer. “Our long-term goal is to connect Pine Road with U.S. 31, but we’ll likely have to go in phases due to the construction cost. This money will help us with the EIS (Environmental Impact Study) and beginning to look at the corridor and map out the road.”

Phase one of the 7th Road project in Marshall County will likely run from the new interchange at the new U.S. 31, west to Michigan Road in Plymouth.

Future phases will extend to Oak Road and then to Pine Road.

There is no exact timetable for when work might begin;  however, Overmyer hopes to have some action by late this year.

“I really hope we’ve hired a consultant by the last quarter of this year,” he said. “That will be the last portion of (new) U.S. 31 to be completed and that doesn’t give us a lot of time to finish the project, and we have to in order to get the diamond interchange there. I thought we’d have about four years to complete that. I don’t want to say we’re under a deadline, but we have to in order to meet INDOT requirements.”