By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington aldermen have approved a scaled down plan to reduce traffic bottlenecks at the intersection of Towanda Barnes and Ireland Grove Roads.

After rejecting pricier proposals, the council unanimously entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the county government. The city’s share is $370,000 for a southbound free-flow right turn lane onto Ireland Grove.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott Laughlin’s interview with Bloomington Interim City Manager Steve Rasmussen on WJBC. 

Bloomington Public Works Director Jim Karch described four minute waits for vehicles now waiting to make that turn, and noted it’s the city’s tenth most accident prone intersection.

“It really is a great video that shows one truck way in the back on the southbound right turn lane. It takes over four minutes for that truck to navigate through the intersection,” Karch told the council

County Transportation Committee Chairman William Caisley, on hand for Monday night’s council vote, said the solution is not ideal, but is a much needed improvement.

“The city has budgetary problems that are pretty severe, and they’re trying to work their way out of it. So if they can save some money, that’s important to them, and it’s also important to us,” said Caisley.

“We don’t want to squander money at the county either,” Caisley also said.

The city’s initial pricetag was $900,000. The council also turned down a $450,000.

Karch said the city found further savings due to downward revisions in land acquisition and utility relocation costs. He said city electricians will do some of the work, which will also reduce the cost.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]