Crews are putting some of the finishing touches on the Maplecrest Road Extension project.  The new highway is scheduled to open on Oct. 30.

One of the most complex infrastructure projects in the history of Allen County will be open to traffic by the end of this month.

The Board of Commissioners today announced that a ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Tuesday, October 30, to officially open the Maplecrest Road Extension Project.

The ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. on a portion of the new highway near the Do-It-Best world headquarters in New Haven.  Parking will be available on Nelson Road.

The event’s theme — “ Connecting Communities” — will celebrate the collaborative effort of Allen County, the cities of Fort Wayne and New Haven, and state and federal officials to make the Maplecrest Extension a reality.

The project extends Maplecrest from Lake Avenue to Adams Center Road at Indiana 930 in New Haven.  It features construction of 1.5 miles of new four-lane roadway with curb and gutter and four new bridges.  It also includes design of new storm sewers, a multi-use trail, traffic signing, and three at-grade intersections, including three traffic signal designs.

Work began in the spring of 2010.  Primco, Inc. of Fort Wayne was awarded the construction contract.  To date, approximately $31.4 million has been spent on the project.  The engineer’s original estimate was just under $50 million.