Delaware County road work update after a busy 2024

Kyleigh Cramer grew up in Lake Villa, Illinois, but moved to Muncie when she enrolled at Ball State University in 2017. One thing was made immediately apparent to Cramer: Everyone in town complained about the roads.

Whether it was a grievance about a pothole, an objection about a road closure, or anything in between, Cramer soon found herself interested in why the people of Indiana were so well-informed about road maintenance and construction. She never intended to work for the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), but after graduating with a degree in public relations (PR) and making a couple of stops with other organizations, Cramer was hired to be INDOT’s PR director in 2022.

Since then, she has learned not only why Indiana cares more about their roads than those in her home state of Illinois do but also why there seems to be a never-ending cycle of construction around the Hoosier state.

“In college, I always heard jokes about the roads and potholes,” Cramer said. “Now working on the inside of INDOT, I’ve never seen folks work so diligently.”

Cramer’s assigned area is East Central Indiana, which is fitting given her relative expertise in Delaware County. In 2024, Delaware County underwent 127 total federally obligatory road projects compared to 41 in 2023. As of publication, that includes current work on main roads such as W. McGalliard Road, S. Tillotson Avenue and a bevy of streets in downtown Muncie.

However, Cramer clarified that the overwhelming amount of road work in Muncie this year was not necessarily by design.

“Folks need to understand that we look into these projects years in advance,” Cramer said. “The reason that we are doing projects now is because years ago, we saw a need.”

Cramer said new roads and interstates average a life expectancy of 20 years, in which time weight, traffic and weather all affect that life expectancy. On average, she said it takes five to seven years for a construction proposal to actually get started.

Donnie Wright, street supervisor for the City of Muncie, has seen the same phenomena Cramer has in terms of a constant call from the community to improve the quality of roads in Muncie. However, he also mentioned that unsafe drivers complicate road maintenance projects that should be as simple as lane closures.

“People complain that the roads are horrible, but at the same time, when we go out and have to shut a road down we get complaints,” Wright said. “We have to do more [road] closures than we really should have to, but we have to do it for the safety of our guys.”

The Daily News took to Facebook to gauge the thoughts of Muncie residents who drive through construction daily. Kathy Brown Alt said she drives from Fort Wayne to Muncie every week to visit family, and her route includes detours each time. However, the user noticed that the detours don’t take too much extra time, doubling down on her comment by saying the road work is not too much for a visitor to handle.

Lisa Crow Goodpastor felt the same way.

“It is worth the annoyance. It’s a city. One can easily go two blocks around whatever road and not be adversely affected. Now the county, that’s a different story,” she said in a Facebook comment.

Not all users shared the sentiments or patience of Goodpastor and Alt. For Nick Kearney, the road work directly impacts his job.

“As a delivery driver, I can tell you the roads – no matter what way you go – are being adversely affected by construction everywhere in town,” he said in a Facebook comment.

Any Facebook user asked by the Daily News to participate in a phone interview to express their opinion declined.

The City of Muncie, the Delaware County Highway Department and the INDOT will continue to schedule and deliver on projects despite public opinion, positive or negative. While most 2024 projects have finished in anticipation of colder and more inclement weather, Wright said to anticipate construction on McGalliard from East Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to the Bypass to last from early 2025 until 2026.

He also said construction on McGalliard from Tillotson to Wheeling should be completed in 2025. Regarding Tillotson Avenue, Wright said construction will last from Kilgore to McGalliard from 2026 until 2027.

Contact Kyle Smedley via email at [email protected] or via X @KyleSmedley_.