MIDDLETOWN, Ind. – INDOT is looking to add a roundabout in Henry County in front of a high school but not everyone is on board with the $2.2 million change.
The roundabout would be added to Middletown in front of Shenandoah High School. INDOT said that the principal reached out to them about safety at the intersection.
Local farmer Chris Fadely went to the school growing up. He said traffic builds up in the morning and afternoon, but otherwise the intersection stays clear.
“As you can see there’s just not that much traffic here,” said Fadely.
A traffic signal is currently up to caution drivers to slow down. It’s flashing yellow driving along US 36 and flashing red along Raider Road.
“Why wouldn’t you just put a stoplight here?” said Fadely.
Fadely wonders how he will get through the traffic circle with large farming equipment.
“A combine, it’s wider, so you know that that’s gonna be difficult to get through there,” he said.
“This roundabout is being designed, or has been designed with large vehicles, such as farm equipment, school buses, semis, in mind,” said Natalie Garrett with INDOT.
The roundabout will be constructed with a truck apron for larger vehicles to drive on. Garrett said the traffic circle is needed because the intersection has a history of crashes. INDOT said that from 2016 to 2018, 13 crashes occurred in the area, which is higher than average for an intersection with that traffic volume.
INDOT said that between 2019 to 2022, crashes decreased but ramped up again with 11 more crashes between 2022 to 2024.
“Many of those are right angle turning crashes, which are typically more severe in nature, resulting in injuries,” said Garrett.
There has not been a fatality at the intersection since 2016, according to INDOT. Around this time last year, INDOT held an information meeting but Fadely said he didn’t get any answers.
“We showed up to the meeting, never got any responses from INDOT, the next thing we know, it’s just going in,” said Fadely.
Fadely and others have shared their concerns on a Facebook page with a few hundred followers.
They’ve also reached out to state representative Cory Criswell who is sitting down with INDOT later this week.
The project is set to begin later this summer but could get pushed until next year. FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the school system but did not get a response.
