Fort Wayne City Council preliminarily approved four major neighborhood infrastructure projects at its meeting Tuesday. The final approval is expected next week.
The largest of the four projects is the Leesburg Road extension, which will extend Leesburg south and tie it into West Jefferson Boulevard with a new signalized intersection.
The $11.9 million project will also create a new bridge structure over Junk Ditch, add a five-foot sidewalk and construct a roundabout at Leesburg Road and Main Street.
Third District Councilmember Nathan Hartman questioned the construction of a roundabout at the meeting, citing “mixed feelings” about them throughout the city.
City Engineer Patrick Zaharako explained safety criteria called for the roundabout, which are about 80% safer than signalized intersections. Zaharako said they looked at the number of crashes at both intersections and decided on the roundabout.
The other preliminarily approved projects include the engineering phase for widening Ardmore Avenue, which would be completed in the mid-2030s; phase three of the Harvester Community asphalt reconstruction and a construction contract with API to replace the chip and seal pavement in the Mount Vernon neighborhood with asphalt, which needs to be replaced less often.
All together, the city council approved over $22 million in neighborhood infrastructure improvements.
