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Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

Started by mukade, June 25, 2011, 08:55:31 AM

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thefro

There shouldn't be any major backups (outside of Indiana University Basketball/Football games) since the first stoplight is the Ohio Street interchange which is 1.2 miles away from the changeover point.  That's probably going to change once they crank up construction in Martinsville.


silverback1065

Quote from: thefro on October 08, 2018, 01:10:43 PM
There shouldn't be any major backups (outside of Indiana University Basketball/Football games) since the first stoplight is the Ohio Street interchange which is 1.2 miles away from the changeover point.  That's probably going to change once they crank up construction in Martinsville.

they could adjust signal timing if it becomes a problem.

andy

Quote from: thefro on October 08, 2018, 01:10:43 PM
There shouldn't be any major backups (outside of Indiana University Basketball/Football games) since the first stoplight is the Ohio Street interchange which is 1.2 miles away from the changeover point.  That's probably going to change once they crank up construction in Martinsville.

Although, Martinsville will begin section 6 construction as soon as next January.
This will be followed later (as early as late 2019?) with a complete diversion to SR67.

silverback1065

Quote from: andy on October 08, 2018, 09:08:00 PM
Quote from: thefro on October 08, 2018, 01:10:43 PM
There shouldn't be any major backups (outside of Indiana University Basketball/Football games) since the first stoplight is the Ohio Street interchange which is 1.2 miles away from the changeover point.  That's probably going to change once they crank up construction in Martinsville.

Although, Martinsville will begin section 6 construction as soon as next January.
This will be followed later (as early as late 2019?) with a complete diversion to SR67.

that fast? is this a design build too? i was almost lucky enough to be involved in the design of this phase, but the company i work for didn't win the bid.  :-(

andy

Quote from: silverback1065 on October 09, 2018, 09:09:09 PM
Quote from: andy on October 08, 2018, 09:08:00 PM
Quote from: thefro on October 08, 2018, 01:10:43 PM
There shouldn't be any major backups (outside of Indiana University Basketball/Football games) since the first stoplight is the Ohio Street interchange which is 1.2 miles away from the changeover point.  That's probably going to change once they crank up construction in Martinsville.

Although, Martinsville will begin section 6 construction as soon as next January.
This will be followed later (as early as late 2019?) with a complete diversion to SR67.

that fast? is this a design build too? i was almost lucky enough to be involved in the design of this phase, but the company i work for didn't win the bid.  :-(


My fault, I was typing from memory. The closure will actually be in 2020/2021.
Up thread, there is a picture linked from the state presentation. https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=4855.msg2357433#msg2357433
There will be surrounding construction, including an overpass and rebuilding SR39, in 2019 and 2020 to support the diversion.

I'm not sure of the answer to "design build".

Needless to say, smooth flow from the end of I69 to Indy will be short lived.

Ryctor2018

Google Streetview has images of I-69 Section 4 up on the Web, from US 231 to Bloomington, IN (and maybe further as I only examined the section 4 area). The images are from April 2018. Here is the I-69/IN 45 interchange northbound:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9721861,-86.7458745,3a,75y,50.79h,89.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sconxehX-n0NJI8zOl7DRAQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

The image has an artifact on it. I don't know if the Google car had a cracked windshield, insect damage or something else. But, it's on the images both north and southbound.
2DI's traveled: 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 49, 55, 57, 59, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 85, 87, 88, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96

Ryctor2018

Correction: The images after the IN 445 interchange going northbound are from July 2018. This Google car has a clear windshield; we have a much clearer picture to view. See the great Harmony Road high bridge over the Interstate in Monroe county, south of Bloomington: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0721239,-86.6290279,3a,75y,88.86h,86.55t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sy6I_z2RXdm6LgSEhQUIOqQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
2DI's traveled: 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 49, 55, 57, 59, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 85, 87, 88, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96

hoosierguy

Google Maps still hasn't been updated to reflect the completion of Section 5. The corridor is an interstate now.

seicer

Are states averse to benching hills? I've noticed that many more highway cuts are just sloped cuts, reinforced with a lot more limestone or granite rock than ever before.

westerninterloper

Just a quick reflection on section 5 - I drove it about 10 days ago, and having driven that road over 25 years, I think it's a major improvement. I was ambivalent about the new terrain south of Bloomington, and disappointed so far at how poorly constructed and signed it is, but the section north of Bloomington on to Indianapolis should have been upgraded long ago, and the state did a very nice job on it.

Also - big big THANK YOU to ITB for posting photos of the construction.
Nostalgia: Indiana's State Religion

seicer


Rick Powell

Quote from: seicer on October 11, 2018, 02:29:44 PM
Are states averse to benching hills? I've noticed that many more highway cuts are just sloped cuts, reinforced with a lot more limestone or granite rock than ever before.

IDOT is benching just about all of their high fill embankments now to reduce slope failure potential. IL 178 over the Illinois River is one design that I worked on and now in construction.

Rick Powell

Quote from: silverback1065 on October 09, 2018, 09:09:09 PM

that fast? is this a design build too? i was almost lucky enough to be involved in the design of this phase, but the company i work for didn't win the bid.  :-(

I spotted one of my co-workers doing some interchange design work on Section 6 a few weeks ago.

cjw2001

Quote from: hoosierguy on October 10, 2018, 08:41:18 PM
Google Maps still hasn't been updated to reflect the completion of Section 5. The corridor is an interstate now.
Google Maps is incredibly out of date since they dropped the Mapmaker option which allowed local users to do road edits.

thefro

https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/indot-hopes-to-reach-substantial-completion-of-i-69-section-5-in-coming-weeks.php

A couple weeks to go (hopefully) for substantial completion of Section 5:

Quote from: Indiana Public MediaThe Indiana Department of Transportation hopes to have mainline construction on I-69 Section 5 wrapped up within the next couple of weeks.

That means drivers can expect some lane and ramp closures.

The southbound ramp of I-69 that connects to eastbound State Road 45/46 will close Monday. INDOT Strategic Communications Director Scott Manning says crews need to install guardrails and fix deteriorating pavement.

"The ramp from I-69 to State Road 45/46 actually existed before the I-69 project, it was part of State Road 37," Maning says. "So, that ramp has been there for many years and has seen the wear and tear that's come along with that."

Drivers coming from the north can access SR-46 by exiting at Walnut or Third Street to access SR 46 east.

Crews also plan to patch local roads that experienced increased traffic as a result of I-69 construction. That includes Fullerton Pike, Leonard Springs Road and West Tapp Road.

Manning says crews also need to install drainage, signs and lighting along Section 5 before the project is considered substantially complete. All of that work depends on weather conditions.

hoosierguy

They should be done now. There have been lane closures in Bloomington with absolutely NO work being done in the closed lanes or shoulder.

tdindy88

I was reading this on Bloomington's Reddit forum this morning and I wondered if there was any truth to some of the comments there: https://www.reddit.com/r/bloomington/comments/9pdplt/three_constructed_finished_shiny_lanes_on_37n_and/

You know, for all the bellyaching the folks in Bloomington did over the proposed I-69 through their community, they really did get screwed in the end on this one. They have had to go through a lot more for a lot longer then expected. It almost makes their animosity toward the highway justified, just perhaps not in the way they were expecting.

Getting a freeway up to Indianapolis I still think will make things better for Bloomington, but it's still been a screwed up situation just to get the first half of that part done.

hoosierguy

#2942
I wouldn't put it past the state to intentionally screw with liberal Bloomington. Chris Christie did something similar in New Jersey. There is no reason to close 2 of the 3 lanes through Bloomington and cause massive backups.

DJStephens

A lot of F-bombs in the blog commentary.   Kind of uncalled for imho.   Sounds as if a number of overhead and other signs didn't meet FHWA spec.   Maybe a clearview/fhwa font mishmash problem.   

tdindy88

The signage stuff was what I was curious about. I was just there a few weeks back, I saw no clearview signage and the main BGS signage looked fine. The blue milemarkers mentioned earlier here were the only signs that looked off. That's why I was wondering if I was missing something.

jnewkirk77

Quote from: hoosierguy on October 20, 2018, 01:57:18 PM
I wouldn't put it past the state to intentionally screw with liberal Bloomington. Chris Christie did something similar in New Jersey. There is no reason to close 2 of the 3 lanes through Bloomington and cause massive backups.

No. Just no.

GreenLanternCorps

#2946
Quote from: jnewkirk77 on October 21, 2018, 05:12:39 PM
Quote from: hoosierguy on October 20, 2018, 01:57:18 PM
I wouldn’t put it past the state to intentionally screw with liberal Bloomington. Chris Christie did something similar in New Jersey. There is no reason to close 2 of the 3 lanes through Bloomington and cause massive backups.

No. Just no.

That stunt with traffic was incomprehensibly stupid and cost Governor Christie any future political career.

I would hope no one would be dumb enough to try that again.

edwaleni

Quote from: hoosierguy on October 20, 2018, 01:57:18 PM
I wouldn't put it past the state to intentionally screw with liberal Bloomington. Chris Christie did something similar in New Jersey. There is no reason to close 2 of the 3 lanes through Bloomington and cause massive backups.

Not likely.

FWIW: It was one of Christie's underlings who did the intentional backups at the bridge. He was eventually terminated.

While I am not privy to the reasons why the lanes were closed that day, I am aware that during actual work within the construction zone, rules or insurance requires a ROW be made for certain construction related vehicles so they have adequate room to move to/from the work site.

However, on the flip side, I have seen a subcontractor "not get the word" that the work was complete in the impacted area and they left the barrels or cones up in error. Sometimes overnight and into the following day until typically a trooper will call it in wanting to know where the work is taking place.

Then the cell phones will light up and the sub will haul his butt out to pick up cones.

It is possible that the actual work went past the contracted hours the cones sub is allowed to work, so they left the job site and they just sat out there.

thefro

Quote from: hoosierguy on October 20, 2018, 01:57:18 PM
I wouldn't put it past the state to intentionally screw with liberal Bloomington. Chris Christie did something similar in New Jersey. There is no reason to close 2 of the 3 lanes through Bloomington and cause massive backups.

I'd really doubt that.  No reason to agitate people before an election and you'd get a lot of Republicans/independents in the crossfire.

My read on Bloomington (having lived there) is the type of people who commute on SR37/I-69 every day are the townies or people who might live out of the city and commute to work there.  They look more like your typical Indiana resident and probably vote more like your average Southern/Central Indiana voter.

The professors, students, and people who live in Bloomington because it's a cool college town live closer to IU's campus or on the south/east side of town and aren't going to go out to SR-37/I-69 every day.

tdindy88

I haven't seen it myself but my father drove that way over the weekend and he mentions a new mileage sign south of Liberty Church Road with control points of Bloomington, Ellettsville and Evansville. If this is true then it would be the first I-69 based mileage sign I've heard of south of Indy. I'd love to see more signage like this along the rest of I-69 heading toward Evansville.

I know going north there is a mileage sign north of SR 46 with Martinsville and Indianapolis but I think this is just a holdover from SR 37 that was kept there. My dad did mention there may be another mileage sign north of the Walnut St. exit that includes the same two control points plus Sample Road (on the top line I assume.)



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