West Southwind Court Adventures …

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

Our family moved 30+ years ago from northern Ohio to southern Indiana.

My wife and I went on an “available housing tour” one day and we were sitting in the realtor’s office that evening.

Neav asked, “Which one did you like?”

I mentioned the place we now live in.

Part of my reasoning was, if, on the chance that we stayed here long enough to retire, the lone step to navigate was from the garage into the laundry room.

Well, guess what?

Turned out to be a good choice.

Outside of our neighbors, the Reeves, we’ve lived here longer than all the other folks on this cul-de-sac.

BTW, I think cul-de-sac might be a fancy French way to say “Dead End”.

We are moving up in this world, too.

Just a few weeks ago, a new roundabout was finished just south of our neighborhood.

Just west of that, the bridge across Interstate 65 is slated for replacement when funds become available.

I think that might not be for a few years.

However, we just got notified by Metric Environmental that the I-65 rest area, which our backyard abuts, is slated for replacement, starting next spring.

Part of that project includes a proposal for a 2,848 foot long “noise barrier” to be installed and that would be in our backyard.

Now, I’ve seen a number of such barriers along other interstates but this is the first one I might have to look at it if it’s built.

Did I mention it would be between 20 and 22 feet tall?

So, I’d like to see what these “sound barriers” look like from the residential side.

I know one thing is for certain.

If it reduces the traffic noise, it will also reduce the sunset viewing.

I was pretty excited to see that our property was at the top of the list for properties that would be impacted by this project.

I’m sure traffic noise would be reduced but in the 30 years we’ve lived here, it’s sort of become “white noise” for us.

To be perfectly honest with you, the only time we ever notice the interstate is when traffic stops for a wreck or construction.

The quiet is deafening.

Since we’ve installed new windows and siding, the noise inside our home is faint, at best.

Now, these plans call for the elimination of all passenger car parking to add additional room for semis to eliminate truck parking congestion.

If the plan is approved, work could start as soon as next spring and be completed by the winter of 2026.

I’m a geek for watching heavy construction work like this will be so I’m already planning to spend a lot of time on my backyard deck, monitoring the project.

And, back to this cul-de-sac we live on.

One Friday afternoon, I looked out my front door and observed a semi-tractor/trailer sitting in the road, in front of the actual cul-de-sac.

The driver started to go around the circle but got challenged by the small amount of room to navigate.

The driver got truck wheels into yards of neighbors Keith and Jeff and the trailer rutted up a portion of the little “island” between the pavement circle.

After attempting several moves to avoid a stake marking a manhole cover, the driver got turned around and drove out of the neighborhood.

I went out to survey the damage and found out from neighbor Jeff that his doorbell camera had recorded the entire episode.

So, I did a Google search of the truck name on the trailer and found a company in nearby Plainfield with the same name.

After communicating with that company, it was determined the actual firm we needed to contact was in Fargo, North Dakota.

The video was sent to them and they confirmed it was one of their vehicles.

That company basically said, “Tell is what you need to repair the damage and send us the bill.”

We got hooked up with a local landscaper who hauled in two loads of topsoil.

We three neighbors helped unload the soil, spread it out, seed and fertilize it and and how we have bright green grass poking through the straw.

Two additional points.

The trucking companies we talked with provided superb customer service.

They were very polite and helpful.

But I got the biggest kick out of the neighbor tie-in.

I had suggested just getting topsoil delivered and I’d be willing to rake it in and seed it.

But all 3 of us pitched in and got the job done.

Now, the damage could have been much worse since this fall was so dry.

Even though the remains of Hurricane Helene had soaked us with 3 inches of rain about a week earlier, the arid soil soaked it up quickly.

We’re hoping this extra soil will eliminate the low spot we’ve had to “slosh” through when taking turns mowing the cul-de-sac in the spring.

West Southwind Court is a “jumpin” place these days.

If you ask me, this is a pretty neat neighborhood.