Indiana Notes

[Great Lakes Roads]

INDOT has released the preferred alternative to the north split project:

https://northsplit.com/maps/alternative-4c-maps/

this looks great, the exits from the left are all gone, and 70wb comes in from the right and leaves at the south split from the right, and going in reverse, 70eb enters at the south split on the left and leaves the north split on the left, no more big weave there.

no more need to floor it to hit 70 eb from the delaware street ramp either.

interchange as a whole gets much smaller

one negative, no more access to exit 111 for 65 sb (michigan st, ohio st, and fletcher ave.) in order to do that you will have to get off on exit 113 and ride 11th street and get back onto the highway.

still staring at the map, so i may post more observations or corrections later!

I want to give my personal opinion on this project, and I think that this project is BADLY needed!! Look at how much traffic weaves on I-65 heading south to get onto I-70 east. Also, we were not expecting all of this growth on the north side of Indianapolis. Looking forward to this project!! 

[tdindy88]

I just wanted to make sure I had this clear about the Meridian Street/Illinois Street interchange on the north side of downtown. I can access it from I-65 to the south, but if I were to leave in the same direction I can only take I-70 to the east?

Granted, I've always figured that the downtown exits are designed to provide several entry and exit points for those traveling from each side. Southsiders can access via Fountain Square, Meridian off of I-70 and Washington Street, Eastsiders from the C/D ramps and Meridian on the north side, Northsiders from MLK and Illinois/Meridian Street and Westsiders via West Street and Illinois Street.

I suppose this could still change a little, the reduction in footprint isn't too bad though, I get an need to make the interchange look a little smaller since it's obvious that I-69 isn't going to connect with it anymore.

[silverback1065]

I bet this configuration is on purpose, with this configuration, they don't need to do anything new with the south split. After all the controversy with the north split, they don't want to deal with it down there. 

[silverback1065]

69 was never going to connect, but one can dream. 

I just wanted to make sure I had this clear about the Meridian Street/Illinois Street interchange on the north side of downtown. I can access it from I-65 to the south, but if I were to leave in the same direction I can only take I-70 to the east?

Granted, I've always figured that the downtown exits are designed to provide several entry and exit points for those traveling from each side. Southsiders can access via Fountain Square, Meridian off of I-70 and Washington Street, Eastsiders from the C/D ramps and Meridian on the north side, Northsiders from MLK and Illinois/Meridian Street and Westsiders via West Street and Illinois Street.

I suppose this could still change a little, the reduction in footprint isn't too bad though, I get an need to make the interchange look a little smaller since it's obvious that I-69 isn't going to connect with it anymore.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Looks like there will be one final round of new I-65 work in my area before they shut it down for the upcoming winter.

The southbound stretch between 61st Avenue and US 30 will be under construction for concrete restoration. It is a continuation of a project that was (thought to be) concluded in 2017, though the section mentioned wasn't completely done. Work starts Wednesday October 3.

A split-lane configuration will be in effect, with two lanes to the left of the work zone, and one lane to the right. The single right lane will be the only one open during nighttime hours (8pm - 5am Monday-Thursday, 10pm-10am Friday night into Saturday, and 9pm-9am Saturday night into Sunday). Also during those hours, all ramps connecting 61st Avenue to I-65 southbound will be closed. This project is scheduled to go into the middle of October.

Also of note: part one of the bridge replacement project north of I-80/94 is still on pace to end at the end of November, with part two (the northbound bridge) set to begin next spring.

[paulthemapguy]

Concrete work is something you really want to get done when the weather's good.  Concrete will only cure if it's warm enough, so pouring it in the winter requires a lot of expensive additional measures (heaters, heat blankets, etc).

[SSR_317]

69 was never going to connect, but one can dream. 

I just wanted to make sure I had this clear about the Meridian Street/Illinois Street interchange on the north side of downtown. I can access it from I-65 to the south, but if I were to leave in the same direction I can only take I-70 to the east?

Granted, I've always figured that the downtown exits are designed to provide several entry and exit points for those traveling from each side. Southsiders can access via Fountain Square, Meridian off of I-70 and Washington Street, Eastsiders from the C/D ramps and Meridian on the north side, Northsiders from MLK and Illinois/Meridian Street and Westsiders via West Street and Illinois Street.

I suppose this could still change a little, the reduction in footprint isn't too bad though, I get an need to make the interchange look a little smaller since it's obvious that I-69 isn't going to connect with it anymore.

You're too young to remember, but yes, I-69 was supposed to connect to the I-65/I-70 north split interchange. That's why the ghost bridges/ramps exist in the present design. But in the mid-1970s, a deal was struck between the city, state, & the FHWA to divert the funds allocated for the completion of I-69 between Castleton and downtown to projects which widened I-465 & I-70 from the NE side to handle most of that traffic. The canceled "Northeast Freeway", would've taken I-69 down what was then SR 37 (now Binford Blvd) to a point near Fall Creek & Keystone, then across that waterway and onto new terrain (near the old Nickel Plate & Monon railroads) south to the north split. The "freeway revolt" of that era, which caught on here because so many city neighborhoods (particularly impacting African-Americans) had been divided by building the inner legs of I-65 & I-70 to downtown, caused the cancellation of that I-69 project. This is part of the reason why NEPA studies now include "social justice" as part of the review process for new projects.

Some historical maps from the era of original dasign & construction of the "inner loop" showed I-69 continuing on south past downtown (on the canceled "Harding Freeway" corridor) to at least I-465. Some also showed the "missing west leg" of the inner loop along West Street as being I-69, which would have resulted in a "wrong-way concurrency" taking SB I-69 west on NB I-65 along the north leg of the loop. But once the plan for a freeway along Harding Street bit the dust and the western leg of the inner loop was downgraded to a surface arterial, the southern terminus of I-69 was reassigned back to the North Split. Later, when the Northeast Freeway also was killed off, that southern national terminus for I-69 remained at I-465 in Castleton until the current century.

[SSR_317]

I just wanted to make sure I had this clear about the Meridian Street/Illinois Street interchange on the north side of downtown. I can access it from I-65 to the south, but if I were to leave in the same direction I can only take I-70 to the east?

...

No, you will still be able to access the East Leg C/D going EB from the Delaware St on-ramp, which will (eventually) get you to either I-65 SB or I-70 WB. You just won't be able to directly access the SB I-65 mainline from this entrance (which will help prevent weaving).

[silverback1065]

living in the northern burbs, it would be nice to have 69 go down there.  any maps of these cancelled freeways?

[nwi_navigator_1181]

living in the northern burbs, it would be nice to have 69 go down there.  any maps of these cancelled freeways?

I seem to recall an old concept map (or at least a link to it) in the I-69 extension thread. It showed a proposed route spoking northward away from the interchange. At one point, it was going to be I-165 if I-69 didn't make it (again, I am roting this from memory, so bear with me if the details are a bit off).

Big news coming from Laporte County: Indiana 8 between US 421 and Indiana 39 has been opened nearly eight months after being all but washed away due to the historic February flooding. Crews will still be out for striping and minor landscaping, but the bulk of the work is done. The washed out area has been replaced with all new roadbed, along with a brand new bridge structure (the replacement was already scheduled before the flooding).

Also, the I-65 expansion project is definitely on the wind down. Three lanes of southbound traffic are now open from south of US 30 to just before US 231, and three lanes are opened northbound from just north of the 101st Avenue overpass. The remaining lane closures are primarily for cleanup and minor landscaping; all lanes have been striped. Looks like substantial completion will be happening within the next week.

[silverback1065]

https://northsplit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/20180921-North-Split-Alternatives-Screening-Report-Appendix.pdf

here is the report of the alternatives, the pavement is the original from 1968! wow!

[paulthemapguy]

What's the deal with Indiana 14 west of US231?  Why has that been closed for 6 or more months with no signs of reopening?

[NWI_Irish96]

What's the deal with Indiana 14 west of US231?  Why has that been closed for 6 or more months with no signs of reopening?

I think it's flood damage.  Don't know why they haven't been working on it though.

[paulthemapguy]

Hi to everybody in this thread...I need your knowledge and expertise!  My goal is to photograph a road sign for every state, US, and Interstate highway in Indiana.  I think I have the collection completed as of this week, but I need to verify if there's anything I'm missing. If you're an expert on Indiana, could you check here to see if I'm missing anything??  That album is a bunch of cropped out shield photos; you might enjoy looking through the source photos with context a bit more in my other album.

I might check against the listing on Travel Mapping just to be sure, too.

Note that I am getting one shield per number, so I'm not distinguishing between separate highways with the same number, and I'm not distinguishing between business, truck, and mainline routes, either.

[Interstate 69 Fan]

Hi to everybody in this thread...I need your knowledge and expertise!  My goal is to photograph a road sign for every state, US, and Interstate highway in Indiana.  I think I have the collection completed as of this week, but I need to verify if there's anything I'm missing. If you're an expert on Indiana, could you check here to see if I'm missing anything??  That album is a bunch of cropped out shield photos; you might enjoy looking through the source photos with context a bit more in my other album.

I might check against the listing on Travel Mapping just to be sure, too.

Note that I am getting one shield per number, so I'm not distinguishing between separate highways with the same number, and I'm not distinguishing between business, truck, and mainline routes, either.

I'm pretty sure you got them all!

[csw]

Looks like you're only missing SR 342. But it's so short that I don't know if there are any actual shields posted.

[paulthemapguy]

Looks like you're only missing SR 342. But it's so short that I don't know if there are any actual shields posted.

I drove the length of SR342 to see if there were any signs for it.  There was nothing.  My evidence for my visit there is this photo, which labeled as a westbound reassurance marker off of IN-342 (that's what the code means at the base of the photo).  I'm led to believe it's been decommissioned but have no official documentation of that belief.


IN-042-342WR by Paul Drives, on Flickr

[silverback1065]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anymore (SR 342) it used to be signed a few yrs ago, and the old Indiana routes website had the pics.  They took the signs down a few years ago.

[westerninterloper]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anymore (SR 342) it used to be signed a few yrs ago, and the old Indiana routes website had the pics.  They took the signs down a few years ago.

I recall that the road is still officially SR 342, because it connects to a government/federal facility, but was unsigned because people were confused why a state road was so short. The state's asset map shows it as SR 342.

https://indot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=a7479e1aef194c5e9c93a7d3164730e6

[paulthemapguy]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anymore (SR 342) it used to be signed a few yrs ago, and the old Indiana routes website had the pics.  They took the signs down a few years ago.

I recall that the road is still officially SR 342, because it connects to a government/federal facility, but was unsigned because people were confused why a state road was so short. The state's asset map shows it as SR 342.

https://indot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=a7479e1aef194c5e9c93a7d3164730e6

The indication of SR-342 is just OpenStreetMap calling it that.  The layer owned by INDOT isn't showing the road as anything.  The road is closed, so whether INDOT maintains it or not, they probably aren't going to advertise its existence to anyone.  When I visited the site in late April, the road was blocked off with barricades.

[westerninterloper]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anymore (SR 342) it used to be signed a few yrs ago, and the old Indiana routes website had the pics.  They took the signs down a few years ago.

I recall that the road is still officially SR 342, because it connects to a government/federal facility, but was unsigned because people were confused why a state road was so short. The state's asset map shows it as SR 342.

https://indot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=a7479e1aef194c5e9c93a7d3164730e6

The indication of SR-342 is just OpenStreetMap calling it that.  The layer owned by INDOT isn't showing the road as anything.  The road is closed, so whether INDOT maintains it or not, they probably aren't going to advertise its existence to anyone.  When I visited the site in late April, the road was blocked off with barricades.

Could be...I havent visited in a few years. The National Guard building address on that route is South SR 342, but I didn't know it was barricaded and closed.

[silverback1065]

does anyone know whats going on on I-69 between SR 9/109 and SR 332?

[tdindy88]

INDOT is rebuilding I-69 from SR 9/109 up to SR 32/67. The highway will still be four lanes but the roadway is supposed to be rebuilt completely. Not sure what is happening north of there to SR 332, I thought that stretch was repaved a few years ago.

[theline]

I'm old enough to remember that the section of 69 from Pendleton to Daleville was the first section built back in the Fifties. I presume it was first because the corresponding part of SR-67 was a three-lane deathtrap (complete with a suicide lane), so this replacement was sure to save lives right away. Although I'm sure it was repaved many times in the 60+ years since, it was time for a complete rebuild.

[US 41]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anymore (SR 342) it used to be signed a few yrs ago, and the old Indiana routes website had the pics.  They took the signs down a few years ago.

I recall that the road is still officially SR 342, because it connects to a government/federal facility, but was unsigned because people were confused why a state road was so short. The state's asset map shows it as SR 342.

https://indot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=a7479e1aef194c5e9c93a7d3164730e6

The indication of SR-342 is just OpenStreetMap calling it that.  The layer owned by INDOT isn't showing the road as anything.  The road is closed, so whether INDOT maintains it or not, they probably aren't going to advertise its existence to anyone.  When I visited the site in late April, the road was blocked off with barricades.

SR 342 was the entrance to the Indiana Nat'l Guard base. The entrance has since been moved east to the new roundabout at Swalls Dr. This new entrance however is not signed as SR 342. I almost forgot SR 342 ever existed and I've lived in Terre Haute my whole life. I only drove on it once a few years ago when it still existed.