State Route 56

Overview

The planned improvements for State Route 56, from south of the Warren-DeKalb County line to East Bryant Street in Smithville, consist of realignment and reconstruction of the existing roadway for approximately 8.3 miles.

Purpose and Need

The existing SR 56 corridor, between the Warren-DeKalb County line and East Bryant Street, is a two- to three-lane rural arterial route. The planned improvements are designed to improve the safety and operation of the roadway by correcting route deficiencies, including sight distance, shoulder widths, and drainage issues.

Design

Due to the size of the project, improvements to SR 56 have been divided into two smaller sections or phases.

• from south of the Warren-DeKalb County line to near Magness Road – 3.33 miles
• from south of SR 288 near Magness Road to East Bryant Street – 4.92 miles

The majority of the project is on new alignment. The new road will be built adjacent to the existing road, with several sections crossing over or tying into the existing the route.

The new roadway will consist of two to three travel lanes, depending on location, with 10-foot paved shoulders. The design will also accommodate left turn movements to access connecting streets.

From south of the Warren County line to College Street in Smithville will be two lanes (one lane in each direction) with left turn lanes at connector roads. From College Street to the New Life Connection Center (750 S Congress Blvd) will be three lanes (one lane in each direction) with a dedicated center turn lane. From the New Life Connection Center to East Bryant Street will be five lanes (two lanes in each direction) with a dedicated center turn lane.

A new signal will be installed at the East Bryant Street intersection. Other intersections along the corridor will be adjusted to safely connect with the new alignment including Arnold Road (Gene Vaughn Road), Sink Creek Road, Magness Road, SR 288 (Keltonburg Road), County House Road, Jacobs Pillar Road, South Tittsworth Road, and South College Street.

In addition to realignment, the planned design will replace eight box culverts and construct two new bridges over Sink Creek and Pine Creek. Upon completion of the new bridges, the existing Sink Creek Bridge will be demolished, and the existing Pine Creek Bridge will be turned over to DeKalb County.

Additional safety improvements include new guardrail, paint, and markers.

PHOTO GALLERY: aerial images of the project area for SR 56
between the Warren-DeKalb County line and East Bryant Street