PORTAGE | Engineering efforts are under way to break ground today on a new reconstruction of U.S. 6, but important questions still exist, such as how will traffic flow in and out of businesses, and how will emergency vehicles will get to those in need.

Officials with Rieth-Riley Construction Co. of Gary and representatives from the Indiana Department of Transportation discussed the project with residents Tuesday night at Portage High School. Rieth-Riley is the company performing the reconstruction project on the three-mile stretch of U.S. 6 between Union Street in Hobart to Scottsdale Road in Portage.

The reconstruction, scheduled to be completed in November 2008, will provide two lanes in each direction with a center turn lane.

But questions of emergency vehicle access went unanswered as town officials from Portage and Hobart inadvertently were left off of the invitation list, said Florzell Hawkins, Rieth-Riley marketing manager.

"I have a heart condition, and I have seconds, not minutes. I don't have the time to spare," said Ron Hancock, of Portage, whose residence is along the upcoming construction zone.

Business owners wondered about access to their stores while the project moves forward in phases, including questions about ramps for business entrances during the project.

"This issues of entrances is a major problem. If you're talking entrances like you have now at the movie theatre, it's not going to work for me," said Richard Updegraff, manager at Wal-Mart in Portage. "You're going to have someone killed, I tell you that right now. People are insane there, and I have 10,000 people in and out of there every weekday."

INDOT engineer Mike Essling said issues such as Updegraff's would be addressed in the future.

"If anyone has a better idea, we'll listen to you a long time," Essling said. "We're looking into it, and it's good to know about it, especially before the day after Thanksgiving."