Messmer Column: Making Indiana roadways safer

Local Sources- On this week's Messmer Column, State Senator Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) discusses making Indiana's roads safer.

Maintaining our communities' roads and bridges helps keep Hoosiers safe and Indiana's economy moving.

This year, I was assigned to serve on the Interim Study Committee on Roads and Transportation, which is studying the following topics in preparation for the 2024 legislative session.

  1. Ways to reduce and prevent fatalities on roads.
  2. Civil penalty assessments and enforcement of overweight loads.
  3. Advising the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) on permitting groups to have special recognition license plates.
  4. Bridge and road renaming proposals presented to the General Assembly.

According to a study by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, nearly 900 people were killed in collisions on Indiana roads in 2020.

Looking for ways to reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities on Indiana roadways will help keep motorists safe and our communities strong.

During the 2023 legislative session, I sponsored House Enrolled Act 1204, which asked for the study committee to study the impact of penalties and enforcement of overweight loads as it relates to the impact on our infrastructure.

The committee is also considering road and bridge renaming resolutions before they are filed for the legislative session.

This year, I have authored a resolution to rename a bridge on I-64 over the Little Blue River near exit 86 in Crawford County after Edward Workman.

He was a United States Navy Seabee in the Naval Construction Force and went on to have a 40-year career building bridges throughout Indiana, including the I-64 bridge over the Little Blue River.

The committee held its first meeting on Sept. 12, and has more planned in the weeks ahead.

Committee livestreams and agendas can be found on iga.in.gov.

As always, feel free to contact my office directly with your questions and concerns by email at [email protected] or by phone at 800-382-9467.