Trafalgar State Road 135 detours crumble county roads

Some county roads in Trafalgar are taking a hit because of a prolonged structure project on State Road 135.

County Road 350 West near the road closure has taken the most damage because of the new high traffic volumes traveling on it, said Luke Mastin, Johnson County highway director. The road has taken on a lot of shoulder damage, adding structural issues under the pavement.

Mastin said it has been caused by drivers detouring around the prolonged closure on State Road 135 near it. That section of State Road 135 in Trafalgar, north of State Road 252, closed in June, for what was expected to be a two-month closure for structure repairs. But due to some utility placement conflicts, the project was pushed back twice and is now set to be complete in October, Indiana Department of Transportation officials said last week.

“These are rural roads not built nor intended for State Road 135 traffic volumes,” Mastin said.

The official, or signed, detour route follows State Road 252, U.S. 31, State Road 144 and State Road 44, not the county roads. The unofficial detour follows the county and town roads Pearl Street, County Road 400 South, County Road 350 West and County Road 300 South.

Unofficial routes are not signed, and residents are not encouraged to use these because of the impact high traffic patterns could have on those smaller roads, Mastin said. However, the official detour routes can be lengthy to get around, leading to drivers finding their own shorter routes around the closure, he said. Hence, the creation of an unofficial route.

Marking an unofficial route takes the cost burden to repair the roads off of the county and Trafalgar, Mastin said. INDOT worked with the county highway department and the town of Trafalgar to establish an agreement to make those county and town roads an unsigned detour route. The agreement makes INDOT responsible for cost reimbursement to repair the local road damage that may occur during the state road closure.

In the meantime, while the construction has lasted longer than expected, these roads, especially 350 West are getting into bad shape, Mastin said.

The county has been making temporary repairs to make the road “passable” until the construction finishes. However, the extent of the fixes is limited because of how narrow the road is and the higher traffic flow, Mastin said.

County Road 350 West closed Monday for repairs and paving, but the other roads on the unofficial route remain open. Mastin did not give a reopening date.

Mastin said one issue on those rural roads is drivers are not lowering their speed to the posted speed limit, and are instead driving as fast as they would on State Road 135.

Slowing down can help keep the road shoulders intact, and it generally makes for a safer flow of traffic, especially if highway workers are also on the road for repairs, he said.

“No one is happy about the State Road 135 closure and the subsequent increase in travel times, but that is no excuse for not exercising caution when there are workers on the road,” Mastin said.