The US 20 Section 2 Public Hearing was held on April 21, 2021 at the Northridge High School.  Included in the links below are the Public Hearing Exhibits, the Public Hearing Presentation, and the Environmental Additional Information (AI) Document.

Public Hearing Exhibits

Public Hearing Presentation

Environmental Additional Information (AI) Document

US 20 Section 2 in Elkhart County, near Middlebury, IN will soon be under construction to widen the roadway in order to improve safety and mobility along the corridor.  The 2-mile corridor project will begin at County Road 35 and end at State Route 13. This project is a continuation of US 20 Section 1 from State Route 15 to County Road 35.  

The purpose of this project is to improve corridor mobility, vehicular congestion and pedestrian safety.  This project will also provide roadway and intersection improvements, new traffic signals to replace the existing signals, and curb and gutter throughout the corridor to handle stormwater runoff. This section of US 20 will provide 10-foot wide shoulders on both sides of the road that will accommodate horse and buggy traffic along the corridor.  These improvements will greatly enhance safety while traveling within the corridor.

The project features a new pedestrian crossing in front of the Northridge High School to connect pedestrians from adjacent neighborhoods across US 20.  New sidewalks will also be constructed on the north side of US 20 from Northridge High School to the US 20/CR 16 intersection, and on the south side of US 20 from Westlake Drive to Spring Valley Drive.  In addition, new pavement markings and a special traffic control device, commonly referred to as a HAWK signal, will be installed at the pedestrian crossing at Northridge High School.  HAWK, which is an acronym that stands for High intensity Activated crossWalK, is a combination of a beacon flasher and a traffic control signaling device. The purpose of the HAWK signal is to both warn and control traffic at an un-signalized location to assist pedestrians in crossing a street or highway at a marked crosswalk.   

The project also uses curb and gutter with underground stormwater pipes along the entire corridor to reduce the project footprint compared to an open ditch design.  INDOT’s decision to use curb and gutter with underground stormwater pipes for this section will greatly reduce the amount of land acquisition required for the project.  Existing property access along the US 20 corridor will be maintained throughout the project. 

The existing 4-way traffic signal at the Intersection of US 20 and County Road 16 (Wayne Street) will be upgraded to include a more gradual horizontal curve to improve safety, and a new traffic signal to reduce congestion.  Also, the existing 4-way traffic signal at the intersection of US 20 and County Road 22 (Orpha Drive) will be improved with this project.  This intersection will have new traffic signal equipment to replace the existing traffic signal and will improve overall traffic flow.    

The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail tunnel under US 20 will be extended as part of this corridor widening project.  The trail will be closed during construction and a detour route for all trail users will be in place during the closure.  The Ridge Run Trail will also be reconstructed on the north side of US 20 to accommodate the roadway widening.  The existing trail will remain open until the new trail is constructed.