Tippecanoe County, Lafayette and West Lafayette approve interlocal to fund US 231 extension study
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Summary
The Board of Commissioners approved an interlocal agreement splitting a 20% local match so federal funds can pay 80% of a preliminary study into extending U.S. 231 to the interstate; staff said the study would be preliminary and require much more work before engineering or alignment.
Tippecanoe County commissioners voted Dec. 15 to sign an interlocal agreement with the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette to fund a preliminary study of extending U.S. 231 to the interstate.
County staff told the board the county received a favorable bid on the Morehouse Road project and, after working with the Indiana Department of Transportation, had federal funding available that could cover 80% of a study cost, with the three jurisdictions splitting the 20% local match. "We were able to move that funding down the road to this year," a county staff member said, explaining the opportunity to start what the presenter called "a very preliminary study" of extension options.
The staff member said the extension concept has appeared in county transportation plans since 1978 but has not been studied to the level of engineered alignments; "a lot of work would have to be done before a project could become a reality," they added. Commissioners moved, seconded and approved the interlocal agreement by voice vote.
The agreement covers only a preliminary study; the staff presentation noted that future work would be required before design or right-of-way acquisition could proceed. The motion carried without recorded roll-call details in the transcript.