The joke's on you, Putnam County

Perhaps you've noticed a trend while reading the pages of this publication in recent days and weeks.

In what looks like it might be a slow burn of an April Fool's Day prank, the Indiana Department of Transportation has slowly but surely released plans that make travel from Putnam County east to Hendricks County and beyond frustrating, if not nearly impossible.

If you haven't been following, we present a timeline of the developments:

* Friday, March 18: INDOT announces the closure of SR 240 at Chadd Valley for a bridge deck overlay for the 50-year-old structure over Deer Creek.

Effective date: Friday, April 1.

Remember that start date. It becomes a theme.

* Monday, March 28: INDOT announces lane restrictions on U.S. 40 between SR 75 in eastern Putnam County and Vestal Road on the west end of Plainfield. The project will construct new curb ramps before patching and resurfacing the road.

Effective date: Friday, April 1.

So, the whole SR 240, U.S. 40 route to Plainfield is out? That's not so bad. At least there's still a clear path to Avon...

* Monday, March 28: INDOT anounces lane restrictions on U.S. 36 from SR 75 to one mile east of SR 39. The project will patch and resurface U.S. 36 before constructing new curb ramps in Danville.

Effective date: Monday, April 4.

And that's not all...

* Tuesday, March 29: INDOT announces a lane restriction about a half mile east of Old State Road 267 in Avon. A bridge rehabilitation project will restrict traffic in each direction to one 15-foot lane.

Effective date: Friday, April 1.

* * *

So what's the takeaway here? It appears that INDOT's engineers don't live in Putnam County. If they do, perhaps they don't like visiting Hendricks County.

We'll tread lightly here because people complain about roads too much. If they aren't saying they need fixed, they're complaining about the construction that actually fixes them.

But, does anyone from INDOT actually look at a map when they're planning their projects? Or do they perhaps consult with local officials?

Because if they did either thing, they might have actually held off on one or more of these projects until late summer.

Instead, Putnam County travelers visiting our neighbors to the east are left to a) spend the next four or five months waiting in traffic, b) take our lives into our hands on the death trap that is Interstate 70 or c) find alternate routes on Putnam and Hendricks county roads.

I'm sure the county highway commissioners will be thrilled with all the extra wear and tear this causes.

Of course, there is one other option that I'm sure the business owners of Hendricks County won't appreciate: Spend the next several months local, of course, or reaquainting yourselves with the shopping and dining options of Terre Haute (which has its own lane restrictions on I-70).

It appears the April Fool's joke's on a lot of people: Putnam County commuters, Putnam County shoppers, Hendricks County business owners.

It's hard to imagine any of them doing much laughing in the coming months.