Construction of Franklin’s eighth roundabout is slated to start next spring.
The city’s redevelopment commission on Tuesday approved using about $100,000 in tax increment financing — or TIF — funds to help pay for the construction of a roundabout at State Road 144, Westview Drive and State Road 44 on the city’s west side.
TIFs redirect tax dollars in economic development areas to infrastructure improvements in those areas instead of to other public entities that would traditionally split those tax dollars, including police, fire, schools and libraries.
The roundabout is expected to cost about $1.5 million total, with most of the money — about $1.3 million — coming from the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Improvement Program, said Mark Richards, city engineer.
The city passed an ordinance earlier this year that allocated $84,000 for the project, Richards said.
INDOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program typically funds road improvements in areas that have had a high number of serious accidents, he said.
Roundabouts are proven to be safer than four-way stops, and traffic in that area tends to be congested due to Custer Baker Intermediate School, Creekside Elementary School and Johnson Memorial Health’s campus, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett said.
Construction is expected to begin about May 26 and wrap up by Aug. 3, Richards said.
The roundabout was unveiled in a meeting earlier this year, where residents were invited to learn about upcoming road projects throughout the city.
Franklin has had several other roundabouts that were built in the last few years, including: Eastview Drive and King Street; Eastview Drive at Upper Shelbyville Road, near Needham Elementary School; and Eastview Drive at Hurricane Road. There is also a roundabout on Main Street, which branches off to Oliver Avenue as well as Clark and Walnut streets. Two are located in the Heritage at Brookhaven subdivision. And there is one on Paris Drive on the city’s east side.
Three more roundabouts are in the works in the coming years, including: Hurricane Road, Arvin Drive and Commerce Drive; Commerce and Graham Road; and Graham and Earlywood Drive, Barnett said.
