LEGAL NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

The Indiana Depart-ment of Transportation will hold a public hearing on Monday, November 30, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. The hearing will be held at the Washington Carnegie Public Library, located at 300 W. Main St., Washington, IN 47501.

The purpose of the public hearing is to offer all interested persons an opportunity to comment on current design plans for the proposed State Road 257 Bridge Replacement over Veale Creek crossing located 1.03 miles of US 50, just south of the City of Washington in Daviess County, Indiana.

The project limits will begin approximately 575 feet south of the current location and continue north of the current structure approximately 575 feet. The total project length should be approximately 0.21 mile, not including incidental construction. The proposed structure is a 3-span spill through bridge. The bridge will be widened from the current 24’ roadway span to 42’-4 with a vertical rise of approximately 4 feet. The SR 257 roadway approaches shall consist of two 12 foot travel lanes with 7’-8” shoulders.

The project is replacing the Veale Creek Bridge in order to maintain a safe river crossing and address the geometric and structural deficiencies with the current bridge.

The Maintenance of Traffic is in the planning stage. The current plan is to construct a temporary runaround on the west side of SR 257 at the project site.

The right of way for this project is 4.3 Acres of permanent. There will be no relocations anticipated in this project.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Indiana Depart-ment of Transportation have agreed that this project falls within the guidelines of a Categorical Exclusion Level 3. This is the final opportunity to comment on the “adverse effect” finding in this project. “Per the National Historic Preservation Act, the views of the public are being sought regarding the effect of State Road 257 over Veale Creek (per 36CFR800.2(d), 800.3(e) and 800.6(4))). “Pursuant to 36CFR800.6(a)(4), the documentation specified in 36CFR800.11(e) and the draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) are available for inspection at the locations below. This Documentation serves as the basis for the “adverse effect” finding. The views of the public on resolving adverse effects of the undertaking and the mitigation included in the draft MOA are being sought.”

The tentative timetables for right-of-way acquisitions and construction will be discussed during the formal presentation. Public statements for the record will be taken after the presentation. Individuals interested in participating in the public statement session may sign the speaker’s schedule prior to the presentation.

All comments collected before, during, and for a period of two (2) weeks after the hearing will be evaluated and addressed in the final decision study report. Before and after the formal presentation, the plans will be available for anyone interested in talking to the engineers about the project. Conversations will not be part of the official record.

In accordance with the “Americans with Disabili-ties Act”, if you have a disability for which INDOT needs to provide accommodations, please call the Public Hearing office at (317) 232-6602 by Novem-ber 23, 2009.

Preliminary design plans, along with the environmental document and other information, are being made available for review in the following offices:

1. Hearings Examiner, Room N642, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2219, Phone (317) 232-6602

2. Planning and Programming office, Indiana Department of Transportation district office at 3650 S. US Hwy. 41, Vincennes, Indiana 47591, Phone (812) 882-8830

3. Washington Carnegie Library, 300 W. Main St., Washington, IN 47501

This notice is published in compliance with Code of Federal Regulations, Title 23, Section 771 (CFR 771.111 (h) (1) states: “Each state must have procedures approved by the FHWA to carry out a public involvement/public hearing program.” 23 CFR 450.212 (a)(7) states: “Public Involvement procedures shall provide for periodic review of the effectiveness of the public involvement process to ensure that the process provides full and open access to all and revision of the process necessary.” Approved by the FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation on April 1, 2009.

INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Mary Jackman,

Public Hearing Examiner

Phone: (317) 234-0796

E-mail: mjackman@indot.in.gov

Nov. 16-23, 2009