DANVILLE, Ind. (The Republican) — Ever since the approval of the 900+ home subdivision, Miles Farm, on the west side of town in 2021, Danville residents have demanded that the town do something to relieve the traffic congestion through town. The town identified and analyzed possible reliever routes and connections and decided in early 2024 that a three-mile route along Lincoln Street would be the best option to study first. The Lochmueller Group, an Indianapolis firm, was hired to analyze route with a large focus on the traffic analysis. Aaron Ketzner of Lochmueller presented the preliminary plan for the first time to town, school, county and state officials on Tuesday December 10, at Danville Town Hall. Assistant Town Manager Will Lacey was surprised at the amount of traffic that will be diverted if the project gets built. “I believe Sarah Baty was doing the traffic modeling, and the model showed there could be as much as a 30% reduction in 36 traffic over time, which is better than I thought,” Lacey said. Sarah Baty is with the Lochmueller Group. The design was split into three phases. The first phase extends Lincoln Street going east from Cartersburg Road to Highway 36 near the Kroger shopping center. The second phase would widen and improve the existing Lincoln Street going west from Cartersburg Road to just west of the Clear Creek neighborhood. The third phase would pick up at Clear Creek and travel west to County Road 200 West. Traffic would then fl ow north back to Highway 36 west of town. The plan showed roundabouts proposed at Twin Bridges Road, Cartersburg Road and Mackey Road. There were several questions and suggestions made by town, school, county, and state officials in the meeting in order to improve the plan. Ketzner took note of everyone’s input and will revise the plan accordingly. There will likely be more revisions as the engineer continues to receive feedback. In conjunction with this plan, Danville will be working on a Comprehensive Thoroughfare plan for the entire town in 2025. Lacey hopes to have heavy involvement from the community to build the plan. However, nothing moves fast in government and the Lincoln Street extension would be no exception to the rule. Indiana Dept. of Transportation engineer Tim Watson said that if the town decides to move forward with this plan, the construction would most likely not start until 2029 due to the timing and requirements of applying for the state grants, and all the regulations and acquisitions needed to construct the road and roundabouts. The first phase is estimated to cost around $15 million. The town would apply for state grants, that, if awarded, would require the town to pay only 20% of the construction costs. Lacey shared that he may be retired by the time the entire route is completed. “I’m thinking it is probably 2040 for a full buildout,” Lacey lamented. Lacey also pointed out the eight- to ten foot wide multi-use asphalt trail that would be constructed along the entire route. “Having the trail would help with obtaining the grant funding. It’s a must,” Lacey insisted. When is the best time to plant a tree? Yesterday. When is the next best time to plant a tree? Today. This article originally appeared in The Republican Newspaper.