News Source: Clinton County Daily News

A recent three-day workshop has led to an estimated 3-5% cost savings on the Indiana Department of Transportation’s (INDOT) planned 52@65 project near Lebanon, which will provide enhanced mobility and direct access at the I-65 and U.S. 52 interchange.

On any road project receiving more than $50 million of federal funding, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires the design team and project owner to conduct a value engineering workshop. This federally required process reviews and analyzes a project during the design phase to find potential cost savings. In addition to cost savings, the team analyzes the project to make sure it is providing the needed functions safely, reliably, and efficiently.

For 52@65, representatives from INDOT and lead engineering consultant American Structurepoint met with a third-party group of subject matter experts to walk through the entire design process and plans. The review included items like traffic analysis, road and bridge design, pavement design, environmental impacts, and utility impacts to find potential cost savings.

“INDOT always strives to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars,” said INDOT West Central District Spokesperson Blake Dollier. “Going through the value engineering workshop is part of our commitment to investing taxpayer dollars wisely.”

Once the workshop is complete, INDOT, American Structurepoint, and FHWA go through the recommendations to determine what can be accepted, rejected, or needs further review. Items are typically rejected if it requires a design or standard exception.

The value engineering process resulted in a 3-5% cost savings for the 52@65 project, which will tentatively begin construction spring 2025.

“Value engineering is a great way for our teams to find possible cost savings for major projects,” Dollier said. “By saving 3-5%, we are upholding our pledge to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

The next step in the project design is to have a public hearing, which will be held spring/summer 2024. The final design is expected to be completed later in 2024.