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Residents challenge $50 million diverging‑diamond plan for State Road 2; commissioners defer to INDOT
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Summary
Residents and commissioners clashed during public comment over a proposed diverging‑diamond interchange on State Road 2; a New Carlisle resident criticized the design and local costs while county staff and the economic development director said the state’s traffic engineers selected the divergent diamond based on long‑term traffic projections.
A New Carlisle resident told the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners on March 10 that the planned $50 million diverging‑diamond interchange at State Road 2 should be reconsidered in favor of alternatives such as a dog bone or cloverleaf.
"There certainly doesn't need to be this $50,000,000 diverging diamond intersection, $31,000,000 from the state, $12,000,000 from St. Joseph County, and $7,000,000 from Amazon," Dan Charuso said during the meeting’s public comment period. He recommended alternative designs and urged officials to avoid overspending.
Chair responded that the county is required to rely on the state's traffic engineers and that the decision on the interchange design rests with INDOT/NDOT, not the county. "We are not highway engineers," the Chair said, adding that the cost to local taxpayers had not changed with different interchange designs because the state required the work.
Bill Shalio, economic development director, told the board the state’s study began when large projects were announced and that the state had evaluated options including the dog bone. "The state has looked at the Dog Bone Interchange... They have stated they would never build that interchange again as it was built. It is not effective. It is not efficient," Shalio said, and argued the divergent diamond fits projected long‑term traffic volumes related to large employers and industrial sites in the area.
Other public commenters raised related issues: a resident urged financial analysis of TIF use for large projects and referenced regional conservation corridor planning; a county council member announced plans for a community forum on a CRISI rail proposal.
Commissioners reiterated that INDOT led the technical decisions and that county staff and state partners would continue coordination as projects proceed. The board recessed after the comments.
