> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Reader offers alternative to road work headache



The repair work on Interstate 65 and the Kennedy Bridge could have been handled far better than it has been handled.

I-65 south traffic should have been routed in Jeffersonville to the Clark Memorial bridge having motorists travel down Main Street in Louisville to the Ninth Street ramp and eastbound on Interstate 64 to get back on I-65 south. This way the southbound lanes could have been repaired without every interstate artery in the city being clogged and the northbound lanes being left open until the southbound lanes were repaired.

With the way it was done with both north and southbound lanes shut down at the same time, this caused massive delays for 180,000 to 200,000 people that did not have a choice but to go across the bridges. Only semi-trucks would have been required to take the detour to the Sherman Minton Bridge to accommodate their weight, but northbound would have not had to be rerouted causing the massive congestion on the Shawnee Expressway.

Once the southbound lanes were completed on the Kennedy, then northbound traffic could be switched to the southbound lanes on the Kennedy and the northbound lanes on the Kennedy could have been repaired.

Trucks still could have traveled north across the Kennedy. The work would have cost far less and been done faster than the way it has been handled. This project and traffic would not have been the nightmare it has been, causing two to three hour delays in all directions.

The person or persons who made the decisions on this project should be tarred and feather and for not thinking this through. Drivers, in the meantime, will have to continue to put up with the poor planning on the detours.

— George Grut, Lanesville



Reader worried about city taking over ‘fringe’ area



It was extremely interesting to read the recent article regarding the controversy over the “fringe” area in New Albany. I am a resident in that area — in fact, I live on Tye Avenue which was referenced in the article.

I would very much like to express my concern on the possibility that the city of New Albany would actually have any control over our area for the following reasons:

• For more than nine years I had made many trips and calls to city hall regarding a growing issue with stormwater. No returned calls, no responses.

• I experienced a problem with stormwater getting into my house in 2006 and took pictures and asked for any kind of help. No calls back, no response. [I had been advised by an attorney that the city should assist the fringe area].

• Following years, same scenario, took pictures to the city engineer, no response.

• Along with one of the neighbors, attended the very first meeting of the new stormwater board [not the current people involved] and we were told we were in an area that they would not be able to help us. I left the meeting in tears.

• In 2009, experienced severe flooding in May and attended a city meeting with pictures. Again, no response, no return calls. No one even took the time to come out and check out the problem.

• In June 2009, experienced flooding again and again attended a city meeting and got no help.

• At the beginning of August [I am still not able to move back into my house] I attended another meeting with some of  my neighbors, same response. However, after the meeting, I was approached by Paul Ethridge and he had a crew of state workers check out the drainage creek and removed two truck loads of debris. While this would not fix the problem, it could reduce the effect heavy rain would have on our homes.

• I then attended my first meeting of the Floyd County Commissioners. They listened and actually started the process to help improve the problems in our area. They have been out to our area and they have actually made our neighborhood feel like someone finally did care about us.

— Jann Detenber, New Albany



Sorry for the mistake



In my letter to the editor, that appeared in the July 17 News and Tribune, I made a Freudian slip. Instead of “Beware the lame duck session” I unintentionally  wrote “Beware the lame suck session.”

— Kelly Khuri, Jeffersonville