The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) launches its State Road 44 Major Moves project through Rushville on Monday.

Dave O’Mara Contractor crews will begin work at McFarland Street, installing a new water main along the SR 44 route to Jackson Street.

Flaggers will be present to occasionally guide traffic around construction equipment moving in and out of the work site. Otherwise, there will be few disruptions to normal traffic flow.

A detour will be required later as construction activities broaden.

Five lifts of HMA asphalt will be constructed over treated subgrade, replacing the old roadbed. Other benefits of the Major Moves project for Rushville include new storm sewers, water mains, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, new traffic signals and street signage.

The $2,941,787 project extends from a half mile west of SR 3 to just east of SR 3, following West First Street to Harrison Street then jogging one block on North Harrison to West Second Street. No work will be done on the segment shared by U.S. 52 and SR 44 on Second Street. Construction will continue on East Second to a terminus point just before Julian Street. The total distance is .85 miles.

Governor Mitch Daniels’ Major Moves highway program capitalizes on Indiana’s logistical advantage as the “Crossroads of America.” The object is to build a superior road infrastructure. When complete in 2015, nearly $12 billion in critical highway projects will have been built.