Garrett Underpass:
Project Background

The City of Garrett, with the assistance of Dekalb County, the Indiana Department of Transportation, CSX Transportation, S.E. Johnson and Congdon Engineering Associates, completed, in 2000, a project of great importance to Garrett.

As noted in the history portion of this website ("A Short History of Garrett"), the B&O Railroad founded Garrett in 1875. B&O's descendant, CSX Transportation, has a major rail switching yard and terminal in Garrett that essentially divides the City into two halves (north and south).

With CSX's purchase of a portion of Conrail, rail traffic through the CSX Garrett terminal has significantly increased. Growth in Garrett is also causing additional vehicular traffic on Randolph Street (State Road 327), the main north-south arterial street in Garrett.

Traffic back-ups at the Randolph Street - CSX grade crossing before completion of this project were common, and on the increase.   In 1994, Congdon Engineering Associates began meeting with City of Garrett representatives to review several options for rectifying the chronic tie-ups. After reviewing preliminary designs for an overpass and an underpass, it was determined that the underpass option was more feasible.

The advantages of an underpass were deemed as follows:

• More gradual grade (slope) in approaching grade separation (8%) versus the steeper grade required for an overpass (10%). The steeper grade for the overpass would have required demolition several existing buildings on both the north (houses) and south (downtown commercial) approaches.
• An underpass could be constructed within the existing Randolph Street (SR 327) right-of-way. Acquisition of additional right-of-way for an overpass would have been costly and would have lengthened the project timeframe.

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Provided as a public service, and Copyright, 1998-2002, City of Garrett, Indiana
This site developed and maintained by Steve Bingham,
Planning Director, City of Garrett, Indiana

Site last updated: 11/27/02