The Frankfort Board of Public Works and Safety heard a proposal for the contractors tasked with working on phase three of the Maish Road project.
Frankfort Street Superintendent Jason Forsythe approached the Frankfort Board of Public Works and Safety Monday evening to discuss the Maish Road project as it heads toward phase three, stating that the continuation of the project may require the input of a new engineering company.
“We think it’s time for kind of a fresh start,” Forsythe said. “We talked a lot about some of the things that maybe we could better as a city, some of the things that maybe we could get from a different engineering company moving forward.”
Forsythe added that the city has moved toward talks with American Structurepoint in Indianapolis to take over the project and see that the project develops into a finished product for the community to enjoy. Forsythe stated that Frankfort Mayor Judy Sheets, Community Development Director Kimberly Black and himself are planning a visit with the American Structurepoint team to discuss and develop a plan for the project.
“We reached out to American Structurepoint, and they’re going to kind of take over that particular project,” Forsythe said. “We’re excited about using them. I’ve worked with them in the past with Washington Avenue both phase one and two. We just (want) to get a new set of eyes on things. Not just our eyes, but their eyes.”
Forsythe stated that some further developments have been halted due to the details outlined in the 2035 Comprehensive Plan where the project is expected to be completed prior to further developments on surrounding roads that may require construction work.
“It’s an extremely important project to me and to the mayor and to everyone in the city for that matter because it’s part of our Comprehensive Plan, and we’ve got to finish that before we can continue with our Comprehensive Plan around the corner on Kelly Road,” Forsythe said. “That’s something we’re looking at too.”
Forsythe added that the importance behind the project extends to the safety on the road for pedestrians as they travel through Frankfort.
“The most important reason is due to the safety of joggers, walkers and bikers on that road,” Forsythe said. “We lost a child on Maish Road. We don’t want anyone else hurt.”
Forysthe continued to discuss the 2035 Comprehensive Plan, stating that while Maish Road, Kelly Road and other road projects surrounding the area are written into the plan and have been underway, other road projects may be necessary to address in the future that may not be located within the plan or may not have state or federal funding, such as Williams Road, Barner Street and Blinn Avenue in Frankfort.
“Every year you wait, you get kicked back a couple years,” Forsythe said. “One of the things we don’t have is a Comprehensive Plan just for infrastructure alone. I’ve thought about in the past couple weeks, besides Kelley Road, the county’s getting ready to do some bridge work down there near Williams Road, so obviously Kelly Road was on our Comprehensive Plan to work on anyway, but you look at roads like Williams Road would be a nice Federal Aid Grant. You look at Barner Street on the west end, it goes out especially with annexation coming, but even now just with Bailey Trucking, NHK, ADM all connecting there.”
The Board of Works did not entertain a vote on utilizing American Structurepoint for the project prior to the meeting with city officials and the contracting team.