IN US 31 Kokomo Bypass Upgrade Report

Started by mukade, June 26, 2011, 04:54:46 PM

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mukade

I checked out the US 31 Kokomo Bypass construction today. There are seven separate contracts for the mainline construction on the 13 mile new terrain route. A two mile section was completed last year, but is still not open. Another two mile section adjecent and south to that one is very close to completeion. Another contract for the section north of and adjacent to the first one is for roughly three miles. This is the biggest most expensive one and this is over 50% done. Two other sections began construction this year and two contracts for sections at the extreme north and south ends have been let, but construction has not yet begun.

Below are some pictures of the ongoing construction.


Soil stabilization at SR 22/US 35 interchange


Same interchange, but wider view. From Sr 22 to SR 26 is scheduled to open in September


Removing massive areas of bad soil near CR 200N and filling the hole with limestone


SR 22/US 35 construction approaching completion at new US 31


Interchange at Touby Pike in initial stages of construction


mukade

Quote
Motorists must wait until 2013 to drive on the new U.S. 31 bypass, after Indiana Department of Transportation officials decided not to open part of the road this year...

U.S. 31 will not open up this year (Kokomo Tribune)

The reason cited that the contractor is busy on building a section doesn't seem to be valid as I am sure they sub-contract this work anyway. The other reasons (plowing, patrolling) are valid.

The whole bypass is under construction now with three contractors managing five separate projects. Two sections adding up to about four miles are complete minus signage and lighting. One of those two mile sections was completed two years ago, but neither are open.

The section 3+ mile section that is around US 35/SR 22 is in the process of being paved now as shown below.

Henry

Considering the aparently rapid progress on I-69 downstate, there should be no reason for the delays on the US 31 bypass. If anything, most, if not all, should've been done by now.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

mukade

Quote from: Henry on September 21, 2012, 11:22:43 AM
Considering the aparently rapid progress on I-69 downstate, there should be no reason for the delays on the US 31 bypass. If anything, most, if not all, should've been done by now.

No. The last two contracts were let this spring and summer. It takes at least a year to complete a project. The last contract for I-69 sections 1, 2, and 3 was let in early 2011. This was the section near Petersburg. Most I-69 contracts that will open this year were let in the latter half of 2010.

theline

I passed through Kokomo on US 31 last weekend. Construction has commenced at both termini. US 31 traffic is restricted to one lane each way on both the north and south ends of Kokomo, to facilitate construction of crossover lanes in the median. I made the mistake of passing through during the PM rush hour on Friday. That's never a good idea, and is even a worse idea now. Traffic was backed up for miles.

NWI_Irish96

Quote from: theline on September 24, 2012, 10:54:42 PM
I passed through Kokomo on US 31 last weekend. Construction has commenced at both termini. US 31 traffic is restricted to one lane each way on both the north and south ends of Kokomo, to facilitate construction of crossover lanes in the median. I made the mistake of passing through during the PM rush hour on Friday. That's never a good idea, and is even a worse idea now. Traffic was backed up for miles.

Thanks for that info.  I'm headed north next weekend and will probably use an alternate route.
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mukade

As construction is wrapping up for the year, progress on US 31 is good. Maybe two thirds or more will be essentially done with the remainder under construction. Even signage is going up - recall that INDOT said four miles would not open because the signage would not be up.

The associated US 35 rerouting north of Kokomo is also coming along well with the majority of the concrete pavement laid. I would guess that this road must be done this year because the current US 35 roadway will have to be removed to make room for the northern interchange at current US 31 (SR 931).


Southern junction with existing US 31 (future SR 931)


Looking south to the US 35/SR 22 interchange


Looking north from CR 50N overpass


Looking north from CR 200N in the section that required massive amounts of fill


Touby Pike interchange


mukade


vtk

Ew, I thought they weren't going to do that one-route-per-line ugliness anymore...
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

amroad17

I don't need a GPS.  I AM the GPS! (for family and friends)

roadman65

All seems to be going well.  Nice photos of the progress!  It is a shame now, because all the eating establishments will not be on US 31 itself when completed.  My favorite buffet: The King Buffet at the intersection of US 31 and SR 22 will no longer be on the beaten path, either I will have to use SR 931 or exit at SR 22.  At least, some relief for locals as the bypass was built for them as well as to set the way for future I-67. 

Haven't been there in over four years, but the next time I most likely get up that way the whole thing will be open.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

theline

Quote from: vtk on October 25, 2012, 09:38:31 PM
Ew, I thought they weren't going to do that one-route-per-line ugliness anymore...
Maybe because US-35 is "south" only, while SR-22 is both "east" and "west"? They seem to use this kind of structure in those cases, like this:

Alps

Quote from: theline on October 26, 2012, 07:04:08 PM
Quote from: vtk on October 25, 2012, 09:38:31 PM
Ew, I thought they weren't going to do that one-route-per-line ugliness anymore...
Maybe because US-35 is "south" only, while SR-22 is both "east" and "west"? They seem to use this kind of structure in those cases, like this:

Yeah, but then you want "SOUTH 35" on the left and just "22" on the right with no banner overhead.

vtk

I don't care what flimsy reasons they have/had for doing it that way; it's ugly, and there are more efficient solutions, and I thought I'd heard they were moving away from the ugly space-wasty layouts.  Either I'm remembering wrong, or someone didn't get the memo.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

mukade

Quote from: vtk on October 26, 2012, 07:47:14 PM
I don't care what flimsy reasons they have/had for doing it that way; it's ugly, and there are more efficient solutions, and I thought I'd heard they were moving away from the ugly space-wasty layouts.  Either I'm remembering wrong, or someone didn't get the memo.

Subjective at best.

Alps

Quote from: mukade on October 26, 2012, 07:52:23 PM
Quote from: vtk on October 26, 2012, 07:47:14 PM
I don't care what flimsy reasons they have/had for doing it that way; it's ugly, and there are more efficient solutions, and I thought I'd heard they were moving away from the ugly space-wasty layouts.  Either I'm remembering wrong, or someone didn't get the memo.

Subjective at best.
Space-wasting is objective - you can get a smaller sign using a better design that puts the shields side by side. Fact.

mukade

Quote from: Steve on October 27, 2012, 02:02:06 AM
Quote from: mukade on October 26, 2012, 07:52:23 PM
Quote from: vtk on October 26, 2012, 07:47:14 PM
I don't care what flimsy reasons they have/had for doing it that way; it's ugly, and there are more efficient solutions, and I thought I'd heard they were moving away from the ugly space-wasty layouts.  Either I'm remembering wrong, or someone didn't get the memo.

Subjective at best.
Space-wasting is objective - you can get a smaller sign using a better design that puts the shields side by side. Fact.

The quote, "I don't care what flimsy reasons they have/had for doing it that way; it's ugly" is clearly subjective.

As for space wasting, that is the standard INDOT uses. It is a valid way to do it, and you can look at it as a state-variation that makes this hobby interesting. The sign-wide exit tabs in Illinois are also space wasting, but who cares? Does the sign communicate the necessary information clearly? That is the pertinent question.

As for the "fact" you stated, there obviously is disagreement there as well. An example from Ohio shown below does it the side by side way. Some people may find it more pleasing to the eye, but the wasted space is largely moved to the sides.


NE2

Move the 35 down and put SOUTH above it. SOUTH takes less vertical space than 35, and it can be centered and spaced well without any additional horizontal space. This isn't subjective. Daniels probably has a buddy in the sign business. (Actually INDOT has been doing it for a while.)
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

vtk

Quote from: mukade on October 27, 2012, 08:37:09 AM


That sign's not a great example, but it's closer to the most compact possible layout.  Move the directions above their shields, and do something other than those silly arrows.  If they're not aligned above lanes, they don't have to be 12 feet apart – for that matter, a simple text action message "KEEP RIGHT" would make more sense for this location anyway.

Anyway, I'm entitled to my opinion that INDOT's standard BGS layouts are ugly.  While that's not itself a reason for INDOT change their standard, I seem to recall someone telling me they were going to do so a few years ago.  Now I feel like someone broke a promise or something.  It's annoying, and the result is I bitch about it like Napoleon Dynamite.  God!
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

roadman65

New Jersey has a great way of signing it.  They go side by side and waste little space as possible.  FDOT here would do the same, although FDOT does not like signing more than two control cities on one sign unlike NJDOT that uses 3.  Heck, GaDOT uses 4 control cities on SB I-75 at Adele, GA on a guide sign, or at least they used to before the road was widened and all overheads are now being used in Georgia on all six or more lane rural highways.

Anyway, true its Indiana's own identity, but it wastes space and it looks much better side by side.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Alps

By the way, part of my job description as an engineer is sign designer, so when I say "here's the optimal way to do it," I'm not shitting gold out of my ass. I actually know what I'm talking about. Neither of these signs are optimal. You take the elements that need to appear, you take the MUTCD, and you lay out several options until you find the one that works best for what you want - either minimize height, minimize width, or minimize sign area, depending on the constraints you're faced with.

hbelkins

Given the price of aluminum these days, I'd think smaller signs with less wasted space would be optimum from a cost standpoint. I look at these space-wasters and I see taxpayers' dollars floating off into never-neverland.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

mukade

#47
1) AFAIK, there are only three interchanges in the state where this specific condition exists, and all involve US 35. All three have consistent sign design. I-69 at SR 57/SR 68 is a somewhat similar situation that also results in a tall sign, and I-65 at the Borman has perhaps the tallest sign of all.
2) These signs are clear for the motorist
3) The incremental amount of aluminum for so few interchanges is not that much

The better question is why US 35 needs to exist in Indiana at all. It serves no purpose; it is just another useless US highway. If it did not exist, this sign layout would also not exist.

NE2

Quote from: mukade on October 27, 2012, 11:21:37 PM
1) AFAIK, there are only three interchanges in the state where this specific condition exists, and all involve US 35.






This is how it should be done:
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

mukade

Yes, I forgot about those stacked signs. There are probably even more, but still, they are the rare exception.

This discussion is about where an interchange has at least two routes, the respective cardinal directions are different, and one of routes does not cross so the I-69/SR 37 sign is not the same design. Another example like that one (among many) is on the Borman eastbound where I-80, I-94, and US 6 are shields side by side. I-70 at I-465/I-74, I-94 EB at SR 51/US 6 and I-94 EB at Central Avenue also have stacked signs, but the latter is because of lack of room. The former two are examples of what we are talking about.

Question: How would one clearly convey the information on the I-65 and I-469 signs more efficiently?



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