The Waynedale Community Navigates Bluffton Road Construction
Recently, drivers intending to take Bluffton Road unexpectedly discovered lane and road closures along the stretch spanning from Winchester Road to Pleasant Center Road. As a main throughway seeing around 30,000 cars every day, locals have become increasingly concerned that construction will negatively impact Waynedale neighborhoods, businesses, and an upcoming longstanding community-wide event.
The reason for the traffic management is the construction of a new NIPSCO natural gas pipeline and stations to monitor, control, and automate pipeline operations from a central control center. A representative from NIPSCO commented that there will be months of forthcoming construction along Bluffton and Old Trail Roads which will lead to intermittent road closures and lane restrictions.
In town, the project has been planned to occur in 3 phases. According to the Fort Wayne Public Works ‘TREC’ map, traffic disruptions due to Bluffton Road work will span from Engle Road to the Old Trail intersection. Southbound traffic is reported to potentially be impacted now through May 20. Then, northbound restrictions will likely occur from April 20 to May 19. And a full closure of Old Trail Road is currently scheduled from April 20 to June 23.
Also on Bluffton Road, just south of Waynedale, there are two adjoining road closures due to a NIPSCO gas main installation between Ferguson Road and Winters Road planned to continue until April 24, with the closure extending from Winters Road to Pleasant Center Road until April 18 for a gas main repair.
As many guests pointed out at the recent Open House of the 2040 Waynedale Neighborhood Plan, current detour maps lead most traffic outside and around Waynedale’s primary business districts. Compounding their concerns, residents say lane closures make it challenging to not only navigate to the community, but it could also reduce the shopping traffic that local businesses depend on for their viability.
Doug Bilby, co-owner of The Rink Vintage and Antiques, says he was wondering if the construction near the entrance of the business and nearby traffic restrictions would impact an event they held last weekend. He says, however, that he was pleasantly surprised to have received a similar number of customers they had during a similar event a year ago. And the only complaint from customers was they were unsure if they could enter the driveway to the business’ parking lot with so much construction activity surrounding it.
Next week on March 3, Mike Palmer, co-owner of The Stand, says they’re planning their season opening. “We are traditionally very busy the first week. I know a lot of people look forward to our opening day, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of crowds we have.” Palmer continued, “There isn’t really a good time for construction to be done… We hope that the support for The Stand continues even with the inconvenience.”
While local businesses keep their fingers crossed that customers make the extra effort through detours to continue to patronize the businesses, there is another looming issue with upcoming construction which has many in the community concerned. Maybe you’ve already done the math that the planned Old Trail Road closure directly overlaps the May 25, Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony.
The Waynedale News reached out to city officials and NIPSCO about the parade, but neither has yet to comment about whether accommodations could be made to still hold the annual multi-thousand-person community event, a tradition for more than 65 years.
What is clear, however, is that construction has begun and will continue over, at least, the next 3 months. The city advises drivers to drive slower, cautiously, and to allow extra time when navigating the area since lane and road closures are subject to change as progress continues. Also, they want to remind drivers to be considerate and vigilant of other drivers, workers, and construction equipment while driving responsibly when traveling through neighborhoods upon taking detour routes. Residents can help lessen any negative impacts by remembering to keep local businesses in mind as their normal customer traffic is likely to be reduced along with road traffic.
The Waynedale News will continue to provide updates as they become available in the newspaper and on its social media pages. The paper also plans to significantly discount advertising for businesses in the area to help call more attention to the importance of shopping locally while normal road traffic is disrupted.
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