Circle K redevelopment on US 52 clears Tippecanoe County drainage review

Steve Harrison, a civil engineer with McFarland Johnson, told the Tippecanoe County drainage board the Circle K project at the northwest corner of US 52 and County Road 300 will replace an existing residence and building with a 3,956-square-foot convenience store and a fuel canopy serving 12 vehicle positions.

Harrison said the project includes stormwater management designed to Tippecanoe County standards and that Christopher Burke Engineering reviewed and recommended approval of the design. County surveyor (Speaker 4) described a compensatory storage area for activity in the Indian Creek floodplain, detention basins at the east side of the site and an outlet that drains into the roadside ditch of US 52 and then to Indian Creek. He said the design meets the release-rate limits in the Indian Creek drainage impact resolution.

Board members pressed the project team about traffic access and safety. Harrison said INDOT controls access on US 52 and that the team completed and submitted a traffic study that INDOT has accepted; the design provides right-in/right-out access from US 52, a left-in for eastbound traffic, and a restricted right-in/right-out on Taft Road (County Road 300) with reflective post barriers to limit turning. He said fuel-delivery semi trucks will use the US 52 right-in and exit onto Taft Road heading south and that turning templates show sufficient space for deliveries.

The county surveyor raised public-safety concerns about the nearby intersection, noting a history of serious crashes at US 52 and Taft Road and asking that traffic measures prevent queuing that could back onto US 52. Harrison said traffic improvements, including a center median and turn lane, are part of the INDOT-based design and that INDOT recommended the team prepare the turn-lane improvements.

Committee member (Speaker 1) moved to grant construction approval per the Burke memo dated Jan. 27; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The board recorded the action as construction approval; the transcript does not supply a roll-call tally.

The project team and county staff said any final access permits will come through INDOT and the city of West Lafayette for the Taft Road connection. The board’s approval covers the drainage design as presented and documented in Christopher Burke Engineering’s review memo. The project team will return with any permit updates or revisions as needed.