US 50 at Montgomery remains closed. A pipe replacement project is slated to be completed by the 15th which is a week away.
The Washington Times Herald spoke with county officials about the project and the havoc it’s created with traffic. In order to keep semis off of the unofficial detour, barricades were put up to keep the heavy traffic from County Roads 600, 650 and 800 East. Trucks have been going to the barricades and then they can’t turn around. The official detour for through traffic uses I69, State Road 58, US 231 and US 50, but motorists and truck drivers have been using the back roads.
A lot of traffic is using 900East to old 50 to US 50 which is already a high traffic area and the unofficial detour is creating problems according to the county sheriff and highway superintendent. A 35 mile an hour speed limit has been place on 900-East and old 50 for safety reasons. Highway Superintendent Phil Cornelius told the newspaper that Old 50 cannot handle the additional traffic and he’s afraid the entire section of that area will have to be replaced when the INDOT project ends next week.
