By Reid Forgrave
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LAWRENCEBURG - The Indiana Department of Transportation has launched an effort to clean up the traffic mess on U.S. 50 that's developed along with Dearborn County's recent boom.

Flanked Wednesday by a dozen local and state government officials as well as Greater Cincinnati planners, Gov. Joe Kernan said $250,000 in state and federal funds will be dedicated to a corridor planning and assessment study for U.S. 50 through Greendale, Lawrenceburg and Aurora, the busiest stretch of road in southeast Indiana.

"This is the first in a series of steps to alleviate congestion on U.S. 50," Kernan said at the Dearborn Adult Center. "You face a lot of challenges with today's traffic. But these are the kinds of challenges we like to have. This means the community is growing and doing well economically. These roads are the arteries of commerce."

Residents here complain of increasingly unbearable traffic since western Hamilton County suburbanites started moving west to southeast Indiana and other Tristaters began hitting the riverboat casinos. During rush hour, residents say, driving the five-mile stretch from the Lawrenceburg exit off Interstate 275 into Aurora can take from 45 minutes to an hour.

U.S. 50, a busy six-lane commercial strip in Lawrenceburg, serves several masters - local businesses, tourists who come for the riverboat casinos and truckers who use U.S. 50 as a commercial route.

In southeast Indiana, government officials think making traffic flow more smoothly is an urgent need. About 41,000 vehicles per day travel the stretch of U.S. 50 in one of Indiana's fastest-growing counties. In 20 years, that number will increase by 50 percent, to 60,000 vehicles a day, planners say.

"We've been hammered by every little guy and gal going up and down U.S. 50, asking us when we're going to get this fixed," said Greendale Mayor Doug Hedrick. "Hopefully, this is a start."

The study will consult with municipal and county authorities, businesses and regional planners, and should take 18 months.

After it's complete, state and federal funding will be used to improve the corridor - perhaps simple changes such as intersection improvements, increasing the number of lanes, improving access or improving public transit, or perhaps more drastic changes such as building a U.S. 50 bypass to Aurora.

"When you have a strong statewide mobility corridor, it drives economic development throughout the state," said J. Bryan Nicol, commissioner of the state Transportation Department. "And as we see the economy pick up, we need to make sure we have the infrastructure there to meet the needs of the community."

Local leaders were optimistic Wednesday.

"It's certainly an honor as a mayor to welcome the governor to my hometown," said Lawrenceburg Mayor Bill Cunningham. "But it's an even sweeter honor to welcome a governor who comes bearing gifts. This will help not just Lawrenceburg, but all of the county. Next time the governor comes back here, hopefully traffic will be flowing smoothly."

E-mail rforgrave@enquirer.com