A public safety roundtable to discuss growing safety concerns about the intersection of U.S. 31 and County Road 800N is planned today in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Town Manager Dan Cartwright organized the event, scheduled at 3 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 12210 N. Executive Drive.
Representatives from Simon Malls, the town of Edinburgh, Bartholomew County government and the Indiana Department of Transportation are expected to attend, Cartwright said. In addition, the office of State Rep. John Young, R-Franklin, has confirmed he will attend. Young’s District 47 include a good part of Edinburgh, as well as much of both Johnson and Morgan counties.
The danger centers around the lack of a stoplight at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Bartholomew County Road 800N, Cartwright said.
There’s no problem if a westbound semi on Road 800N wants to turn right onto the highway, according to Cartwright. But if the westbound truck and trailer needs to head south at the same intersection to get to Interstate 65, that’s a different story, he said.
The lack of a traffic signal prompts many truck drivers to pull across the northbound lanes and wait in the median area for southbound traffic to clear. As a result, the trailers often block northbound traffic on U.S. 31.
In order to avoid that problem, many truckers will drive south through the mall area to Market Place Drive, where there is a traffic signal. However, that’s the same entrance used by the mall, as well as a number of hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
“We’re adding as many as 200 additional trucks with a new development,” Cartwright said. “It’s going to make traffic a whole lot more congested in an already heavily-traveled area.”
On the day after Thanksgiving, first responders were not able to get to a traffic accident for 30 minutes due to heavy congestion, Cartwright said. About a week before Christmas, the town manager counted 18 semis going to the mall’s main entrance in about 30 minutes, he said.
There seems to be general agreement that a traffic signal installed by the Indiana Department of Transportation at the junction of County Road 800N and U.S. 31 would solve the problem. While INDOT has plans to put up that signal, they don’t anticipate installation until either next year or 2024, he said.
“Our problem is what we’re going to do until then,” Cartwright said.
The trucks come from several locations. Edinburgh Industrial Park, which was specifically mentioned by the town manager, includes Sacoma International, Beacon Industries and Challenge Plastic Products.
However, there are several other manufacturers in the vicinity such as Georg Utz, Inc., Drug Plastic Closures, Tsune America, PCA/Columbus Container, Peer Foods, IWX Motor Freight, Hisada Co. and Hoosier Metal Form. Another company, R&L Carriers Cross-dock facility, is scheduled to open later this year.
While the town manager says a roundabout at Market Place Drive and Executive Drive might improve traffic flow, he doubts if either public or private interests would be willing to pay for it. While creating one-way traffic on Executive Drive might help alleviate the problem, Cartwright says he doesn’t think the mall owners would favor that proposal.
“I believe that Simon Malls – and what they might be willing to do – is going to be the key to this,” Cartwright said. “I’m not sure there is a solution everybody is going to agree with. But if nothing else is accomplished, at least everybody will be aware that public safety isn’t as efficient as it should be.”