By VICKI URBANIK

Intersections on Brummitt, Greening, and Meridian roads in the Duneland community have recently been studied because they are considered among the most accident-prone in the county.

Improvements have been made or are expected to be made at most of the intersections, based on the findings of a road survey conducted by Porter County officials and Anton Insurance.

On Tuesday, the county’s insurance agent, Mike Anton, presented the commissioners with the findings of the road survey, which investigated six intersections in the center district and five each in the north and south districts. Anton said no state highway intersections were studied, since these fall under the jurisdiction of the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Anton said some of the recommendations, such as improved signage and brush clearing, have already been carried out.

In the north commissioner district, the five intersections studied were as follows:

•Brummitt Road and 1300N. T-intersection signs have been installed, and the brush has been cleared on the southeast corner. Stop bars and stripes are pending.

•Greening Road and 400E in Jackson Township. “Cross traffic does not stop” signage has been added. Stripes are to be added to 400E this month, and stop bars are to be added next year.

•Meridian and 950N in Liberty Township. The report recommends stop bars and a “cross traffic” sign on 950N, with striping on Meridian.

•Meridian and 700N in Liberty Township. The report found that no further action is necessary. The intersection already has high-intensity signage, double stop signs and post reflectors.

•McCool Road and 875N in Portage Township. The road was paved this year, with striping set for next year. The report recommends stop bars and a “cross traffic” sign on 875N.

The other dangerous intersections studied were at 600N and 450W, Burlington Beach Road and Calumet Avenue, Meridian and 550N, 250W and 500N, Edgewater and Calumet, Smoke and Division, 600W and 100S, 725W and 100S, 900S and 500W, and 600S and Baums Bridge Road.

The “survey crew” consisted of Anton, the commissioners, county Highway Engineer Dave Schelling, County Sheriff Chief Deputy Dave Lain, and County Highway Superintendent Al Hoaglund. The officials spent about 15 hours conducting the inspections, Anton said.

The report is similar to a study done five years ago. Anton noted that in some areas, traffic patterns have changed in the past five years and that at some of the intersections, the number of accidents has increased in frequency due to growth. He called on the commissioners to stay on top of any population shifts and recommended a follow-up study in a year or so.

Communications Tower

The commissioners agreed to move forward with a plan to install a National Weather Service radio transmitter on an existing tower in Porter Township to improve the emergency communications in central and south Porter County.

The transmitter will be used for weather alerts, Amber Alerts in cases of missing or abducted children, and other emergency communications.

E-911 Director David Sheibels said the northern end of the county will not benefit much by the new transmitter since it is already adequately served by transmitters in Illinois. But he said there is a considerable void in coverage in the county’s southern end, as well as counties to the south.

The county will need to come up with $50,000 for the capital costs. In addition, the county will pay a $420 monthly rent to the tower owners, Vertical Real Estate of Fort Wayne, with the cost to increase 3 percent every year during the 10-year lease. Sheibels said the lease costs should be covered by savings that the county will realize as part of a new public safety communications project, in which the county will lease a single tower at 213 E 600N in Jackson Township instead of the current two towers in that area.

To come up with the capital costs, the county is expected to use Homeland Security grant funds and funding from other parties that have expressed an interest in the venture, such as Center Township.

The commissioners’ endorsement of the project was a timely achievement for Porter Township Trustee Robert Wichlinski, a Republican who is one of seven candidates now running for the three county council at-large seats. Wichlinski told the commissioners that he first contacted the NWS last year about the transmitter, but that the project didn’t materialize because money his township set aside for the project was absorbed by a fire lane project. County officials considered putting the transmitter at the 600N site, but the NWS rejected this site due to its proximity to a new tower being built in Michigan City. Wichlinski asked the commissioners to resume efforts at the Porter Township site, which has the endorsement of the NWS.

“It’s essential to Porter County and it’s essential to our neighbors to the south,” North County Commissioner John Evans said of the project.

Posted 10/6/2004