The completion of the Babcock road repaving is being delayed, according to the Town of Chesterton, who stated the following on social media:
“What contractor Rieth-Riley Construction Company is calling an ‘industry-wide shortage of slag’—an essential material in the manufacture of asphalt—is expected to delay completion of the repave of Babcock Road north of C.R. 1050N.
“Rieth-Riley has put down an intermediate surface coat, so Babcock Road between C.R. 1050N and Fairway Drive is navigable, but it may be as long as two weeks before the contractor can apply the final surface coat, Chesterton Street Commissioner John Schnadenberg said.
“The intersection of C.R. 1050N and Babcock Road, on the other hand, has been milled only and remains pretty rough and steeply lipped at the edges, with the result that the intersection has become something of a choke point during rush hour as motorists, mindful of their suspensions, maneuver their way through it slowly and gingerly.
“Because that half mile of Babcock Road comprises a porous border between the Town of Chesterton and unincorporated Liberty Township, the repave is being conducted jointly by the Chesterton Street Department and the Porter County Highway Department.”
See the Town of Chesterton Facebook page for updates.