The Veterans Parkway extension has gotten the support of the Marshall County Council, but not before a full hour of discussion Monday. The project would extend Veterans Parkway from Michigan Road west to Pioneer Drive.
It would provide a route for local traffic, should INDOT proceed with plans to limit access to U.S. 30. But Council Member Jesse Bohannon wanted to know for sure what those plans are before moving forward. “I feel like we’re guessing,” he said. “We’re creating a solution for a problem that we don’t know exactly what the problem is yet.”
The hope is that 80 percent of the $15 million estimated cost would be covered by federal funding allocated by INDOT. The rest would be divided up between Marshall County and the City of Plymouth.
Council Member Heath Thornton argued that Veterans Parkway is important for future growth. “By putting in some infrastructure, that opens up developmental possibilities, which adds to the coffers of the county and the city,” he said. “And it’s one of those things: if you don’t build it, the guarantee is they won’t come.”
In the end, the council voted five-to-two to proceed with preliminary engineering and commit up to almost $335,000. Bohannon and Council President Tim Harman opposed. The proposal goes to the Plymouth Redevelopment Commission next week, before the county commissioners decide whether to approve a contract.
