Trail could be closed several months
Construction on a new section of the Pumpkinvine Nature
Trail between York Dr. and the end of the current trail east of the Dairy Queen
in Middlebury will require the trail to be closed from State Road 13 to County
Road 43. Construction could begin in the next two weeks, and is scheduled to be
finished by the end of May 2013.
“The closing is necessary because trail construction is
happening at the same time State Road 13 will be resurfaced from the Dairy
Queen to State Road 4, making it impossible to have trail traffic exit onto
State Road 13 at the Dairy Queen,” according to Scott Van Ommeran,
superintendent of Elkhart County Parks.
The decision to close the trail was made by the three
organizations responsible for the construction:
Elkhart County Parks (the managing agency), Indiana Department of Transportation
(the funding agency) and Walsh and Kelly (the construction firm).
“We do not want people continuing west past County Road 43
and getting to the end of the trail with nowhere to go,” Van Ommeran said. “The liability of allowing people to blaze
their own trail through the construction zone or across private property is too
high. After discussion of alternatives to closing the trail, Elkhart County
Parks, INDOT and Walsh and Kelly agreed that they could not provide temporary
access across private property in order to keep the trail open during
construction.”
Trail users are advised to be patient with the inconvenience
because the end result will be a great addition to the Pumpkinvine Nature
Trail. The suggested routes for trail users coming from the east is to turn
north on CR 43 and use CR 14 to reach State Road 13.
I just returned from a 30 mile ride from Shipshewanna to Elkhart via the Pumpkinvine & Maple Heart trails. I am EXTREMELY disappointed in how this closure is being handled! There is nothing posted along the trail to tell you that you cannot reach the DQ parking lot from the trail. All it says at the CR43 rest stop is that the trail is "closed" 1 1/2 miles ahead (which is the distance to the DQ, implying you can reach it). If the section west of CR43 is going to be open AT ALL, then the suggested "detour route" needs to be posted there. Not in a tiny little sign (literally about 8" x 10") taped to the barricade fence at the END of the dead end. This is really inexcusable. When have you ever been driving in a car, and had to go to the end of "dead end" to get directions on how to get around on a detour??? Until this stretch is open, post the detour instructions at CR43. Please, use a little common sense and common courtesy!
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