The intersection of CR 900N and U.S.-24 in Roanoke could be upgraded to the crossroads of two four-lane highways if the A-7 corridor of the Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor is built. Photo by Matt Murphy.
More than 40 people filled the Roanoke Town Hall as questions arose concerning the future of the A-7 section of the Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor during a special meeting of the Roanoke Town Council on Tuesday, Aug. 10.
The meeting's focus was an ordinance that, if passed, will ultimately increase setbacks for industrial and commercial development along CR 900N. However, the meeting became not only a discussion of the ordinance, but a discussion about the proposed highway.
"If the council doesn't pass this, you're going to be stuck with the same two-lane road," said Jay Poe, Huntington County surveyor.
Poe was referring to the potential for larger commercial or industrial development as traffic increases along CR 900N with the completion of the U.S.-24 and Ind.-25 upgrades in Indiana and Ohio. Traffic will increase, he says, because CR 900N together with Lafayette Center Road in Allen County is the most direct connection via I-469 between U.S.-24 east of Fort Wayne and U.S.-24 west of Fort Wayne.
Roanoke and Huntington County officials are concerned that in the event a large commercial or industrial facility is built within the 120-foot right-of-way necessary for a four-lane upgrade, the Indiana Department of Transportation will all but refuse to perform the upgrade due to cost.
"I don't think INDOT cares as much about buying $100,000 or $120,000 houses versus buying multi-million-dollar buildings," Poe said.
One local citizen voiced concern about the loss for local business if a new highway bypasses Roanoke.
"We're going to lose traffic coming through," he said. "The town will be annihilated."
Still others were concerned about their own property and property values.
"It feels like my property is being condemned," said Sheila Hines. "Why would I continue to put in money and investing into fixing things up? If I sell it, who's going to want to buy it?"
Some residents in the area suggested alternatives to the new road.
Barbara Hunter, a 26-year resident of CR 900N and a homeopathic practitioner and nutritionist at Body-N-Balance, said she was opposed to the new highway's construction, but especially if INDOT does not buy all residential properties along CR 900N. Hunter's home sits just beyond the proposed 120-foot right-of-way, and therefore her home would not be directly in the path of the A-7, giving her concern that a high-speed road will be built literally in her front yard.
"If they do something, they need to buy all the properties," Hunter said.
She added that the county or INDOT could find an alternative that would reduce traffic congestion without razing homes, such as prohibiting large trucks on CR 900N or to re-route the A-7 through farmland.
But the plans seem to be progressing, despite the A-7 not yet being part of Indiana's 10-year highway plan. Garry Peterson, president of the William-Lynn-James, Inc. consulting firm, said that federal funding has already been allocated in the past few years to complete a new environmental impact statement for the A-7.
The council plans to vote on the ordinance - officially known as Section 920: Employment Zoning (EZ) Overlay District - at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
If passed, the ordinance would increase the right-of-way to 120 feet north and south of the center line of CR 900N from Roanoke to the county line, except within 800 feet of the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, where the right-of-way would gradually increase to 200 feet at the tracks (due to the potential for bridge construction) and increase the right-of-way 600 feet north and south of CR 900N on the east side of U.S.-24.
In addition, the ordinance places certain requirements on how businesses can operate in the zoning district.
Parcels zoned as residential and agricultural are exempt as long as the structure is existing and does not increase by more than 500 square feet due to addition or renovation. However, exceptions to all parts of the ordinance could be granted by the Roanoke Board of Zoning Appeals.
As for the Allen County side of the road (Lafayette Center), both the city of Fort Wayne and the Allen County Commissioners have voiced official support of the A-7, and contacted Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in 2008 about financing the EIS for the A-7.
Council Vice President Troy Karshner said he appreciated the large community involvement in the town council's decision.
"They all brought valid points and valid concerns to the table," Karshner said.
But although residents may take issue with the ordinance or the new road, no one disagreed that traffic will increase along CR 900N.
"The section between Delphi and Lafayette (Ind.-25) ... is almost as bad as (900N)," Peterson said. "We're here tonight to be sure (residents) get protected."
To view the ordinance in its entirety, visit www.huntington.in.us/egov/docs/1280153593_718841.pdf.
