By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington city officials say an extension of Hamilton Road would give the city a major east-west road in the southern part of the city.

The Bloomington City Council on Monday approved spending close to $1 million for the engineering firm Hanson Professional Services to study a possible extension of Hamilton from Bunn Street to Commerce Parkway, a less-than-one-mile stretch that city manager David Hales said would make for a smoother and safer ride.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Hales on WJBC.

“We really need it, especially for all of the traffic getting to (State Farm) Corporate South,” Hales said. “It’s needed to extend Constitution Trail through this area because they have to get off and go on these rural roads and bus service as well.”

Hales told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin the city will need to find federal grants to pay for the project and might need to borrow money.

“We are aggressively looking at that but if anything there will probably be multiple sources ultimately used including possibly some borrowing,” Hales said.

The cost of the project could hit $26 million if the city has to pay for a bridge instead of an at-grade railroad crossing.

Hales said nearly six-thousand cars that use Hamilton Road daily.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].