Dubois County seeks more detail on proposed two-week road closure for Crossvine solar utility work

County staff brought a revised road bore/cut permit for the Crossvine solar project to the May 18 meeting and said the company now proposes additional pits and a potential two-week full-width closure of a section of 500 West (proposed 7 a.m.–7 p.m. daily) to perform bore and receiving-pit work where continuous boring is infeasible.

Engineers said most work will be bored underground but that equipment staging and receiving pits will require temporary use of the roadway and that in some locations the contractor proposed using the full width of the road for safety and constructability. Staff noted the original 2023 permits authorized utilities in the county right-of-way but did not address a multi-day closure. Commissioners raised operational concerns about resident access, school buses, emergency access, the length and hours of the proposed work and whether contractors could instead coordinate access with adjacent landowners to avoid a full closure.

The board asked staff to request a detailed maintenance-of-traffic plan, a refined schedule (including reduced daily hours where feasible), and an explanation of whether single-lane operations with flaggers or temporary signals would meet safety needs. Commissioners did not approve a closure at the meeting and asked for more information before making a decision.

Next steps: highway staff will obtain Crossvine's detailed plans and maintenance-of-traffic documentation, evaluate alternate options to limit closures, and return the materials to the commissioners for review; staff will coordinate with school and emergency services if closure becomes necessary.