Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

[silverback1065]

Can't wait to drive this!

[ITB]

More photos have been uploaded to the I-69 Finish Line webpage. Here's a trio of aerials of the construction underway in Marion county:


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
Looking north toward the southbound mainline bridge abutments over County Line Road just prior to the placement of the beams. On the left is the interchange's western roundabout, while behind that is the new local access road, which has yet to be signed. In the background center, the deck pour for the southbound span over Pleasant Run Creek is underway. Estimated photo date: November 2021.


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
Deck pour for the southbound bridge over Pleasant Run Creek; looking southeast. Estimated photo date: November 2021.


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
Bridge that will carry the southbound mainline over Wicker Road; looking east. Estimated photo date: October/November 2021.

Lots of great photos, as well as several videos, are available for viewing on the I-69 Finish Line webpage. If you haven't already checked them out, I highly recommend clicking in that direction.

[mukade]

This part of Indiana utilizes very good choices for control cities.  St Louis, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Dayton, and Louisville are far better choices than the mid-sized towns listed above.  The signage seems to indicate Evansville as the control (and the only control) for I-69 south.  It is appropriate and is the right size and distance from Indianapolis.

All INDOT-maintained Interstates in Indiana use only these large control cities. Others used are Cincinnati, Detroit, Lansing, Peoria, and Toledo. Non-Interstate freeways/expressways are a little different. For example, northbound US 31 in the Indianapolis area has Kokomo as the control, and South Bend from Kokomo north. Eastbound US 24 uses Toledo, but a few miles east in Ohio, it becomes Defiance.

I think the Toll Road uses Chicago and Ohio.

[mrsman]

This part of Indiana utilizes very good choices for control cities.  St Louis, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Dayton, and Louisville are far better choices than the mid-sized towns listed above.  The signage seems to indicate Evansville as the control (and the only control) for I-69 south.  It is appropriate and is the right size and distance from Indianapolis.

All INDOT-maintained Interstates in Indiana use only these large control cities. Others used are Cincinnati, Detroit, Lansing, Peoria, and Toledo. Non-Interstate freeways/expressways are a little different. For example, northbound US 31 in the Indianapolis area has Kokomo as the control, and South Bend from Kokomo north. Eastbound US 24 uses Toledo, but a few miles east in Ohio, it becomes Defiance.

I think the Toll Road uses Chicago and Ohio.

Yes.  Indiana is a model as far as interstate control city choice.

[I-55]

This part of Indiana utilizes very good choices for control cities.  St Louis, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Dayton, and Louisville are far better choices than the mid-sized towns listed above.  The signage seems to indicate Evansville as the control (and the only control) for I-69 south.  It is appropriate and is the right size and distance from Indianapolis.

All INDOT-maintained Interstates in Indiana use only these large control cities. Others used are Cincinnati, Detroit, Lansing, Peoria, and Toledo. Non-Interstate freeways/expressways are a little different. For example, northbound US 31 in the Indianapolis area has Kokomo as the control, and South Bend from Kokomo north. Eastbound US 24 uses Toledo, but a few miles east in Ohio, it becomes Defiance.

I think the Toll Road uses Chicago and Ohio.

The last two times I've been near the ITR the eastbound control was Toledo (South Bend and I-69 for locations I was at).

[Great Lakes Roads]

This part of Indiana utilizes very good choices for control cities.  St Louis, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Dayton, and Louisville are far better choices than the mid-sized towns listed above.  The signage seems to indicate Evansville as the control (and the only control) for I-69 south.  It is appropriate and is the right size and distance from Indianapolis.

All INDOT-maintained Interstates in Indiana use only these large control cities. Others used are Cincinnati, Detroit, Lansing, Peoria, and Toledo. Non-Interstate freeways/expressways are a little different. For example, northbound US 31 in the Indianapolis area has Kokomo as the control, and South Bend from Kokomo north. Eastbound US 24 uses Toledo, but a few miles east in Ohio, it becomes Defiance.

I think the Toll Road uses Chicago and Ohio.

The last two times I've been near the ITR the eastbound control was Toledo (South Bend and I-69 for locations I was at).

The ITR uses Ohio and Chicago as the control cities.

[mukade]

Yep. The I-69 signs with Toledo are INDOT's not ITR's. The non-Interstate highway signs on roads like US 31, SR 331, SR 19, etc. just say "Toll Road". I have not seen ITR controls other than Ohio and Chicago.

[CoolAngrybirdsrio4]

I-69 Update:
https://i69finishline.com/on-track-project-update-december-6-2021/

[GreenLanternCorps]

I-69 Update:
https://i69finishline.com/on-track-project-update-december-6-2021/

Key phrase:

"I-69 is on track to open to traffic in Martinsville before the end of the year."

[silverback1065]

I-69 Update:
https://i69finishline.com/on-track-project-update-december-6-2021/

Key phrase:

"I-69 is on track to open to traffic in Martinsville before the end of the year."

let's hope for xmas! 

[Scott5114]

More photos have been uploaded to the I-69 Finish Line webpage. Here's a trio of aerials of the construction underway in Marion county:

You know, these images make me realize, if someone got you a drone for Christmas you'd be practically unstoppable. The owner of the OKCTalk forum flies his over the I-44/I-235 interchange project every week or so. He gets some excellent aerial shots of the progress of that project, and he doesn't have anywhere near the level of construction knowledge you do, so I can only imagine what you'd be able to do with one.

[bmeiser]

More photos have been uploaded to the I-69 Finish Line webpage. Here's a trio of aerials of the construction underway in Marion county:

You know, these images make me realize, if someone got you a drone for Christmas you'd be practically unstoppable. The owner of the OKCTalk forum flies his over the I-44/I-235 interchange project every week or so. He gets some excellent aerial shots of the progress of that project, and he doesn't have anywhere near the level of construction knowledge you do, so I can only imagine what you'd be able to do with one.

Sounds like Scott is offering to buy ITB a drone for Christmas

[mukade]

More photos have been uploaded to the I-69 Finish Line webpage. Here's a trio of aerials of the construction underway in Marion county:

You know, these images make me realize, if someone got you a drone for Christmas you'd be practically unstoppable. The owner of the OKCTalk forum flies his over the I-44/I-235 interchange project every week or so. He gets some excellent aerial shots of the progress of that project, and he doesn't have anywhere near the level of construction knowledge you do, so I can only imagine what you'd be able to do with one.

I agree.

- Does anyone in the Indy area have a drone?
- Does anyone have experience flying a drone?
- Does anyone live close to the construction areas?

If answer to #1 is no, maybe we in central Indiana could contribute some money for a good drone to capture the construction activity for posterity?

Drone videos of the I-69 construction would be a great compliment to the this great Indiana Interstate history document someone spent a lot of time and effort to create.

[Scott5114]

More photos have been uploaded to the I-69 Finish Line webpage. Here's a trio of aerials of the construction underway in Marion county:

You know, these images make me realize, if someone got you a drone for Christmas you'd be practically unstoppable. The owner of the OKCTalk forum flies his over the I-44/I-235 interchange project every week or so. He gets some excellent aerial shots of the progress of that project, and he doesn't have anywhere near the level of construction knowledge you do, so I can only imagine what you'd be able to do with one.

Sounds like Scott is offering to buy ITB a drone for Christmas

Haha, if I had an infinite money well in my backyard, I would for sure.

[FixThe74Sign]

More photos have been uploaded to the I-69 Finish Line webpage. Here's a trio of aerials of the construction underway in Marion county:

You know, these images make me realize, if someone got you a drone for Christmas you'd be practically unstoppable. The owner of the OKCTalk forum flies his over the I-44/I-235 interchange project every week or so. He gets some excellent aerial shots of the progress of that project, and he doesn't have anywhere near the level of construction knowledge you do, so I can only imagine what you'd be able to do with one.

I agree.

- Does anyone in the Indy area have a drone?
- Does anyone have experience flying a drone?
- Does anyone live close to the construction areas?

If answer to #1 is no, maybe we in central Indiana could contribute some money for a good drone to capture the construction activity for posterity?

Drone videos of the I-69 construction would be a great compliment to the this great Indiana Interstate history document someone spent a lot of time and effort to create.

Whoa...do you have a link to the rest of that document?

[CoolAngrybirdsrio4]

I-69 Update:
https://i69finishline.com/on-track-project-update-december-6-2021/

Key phrase:

"I-69 is on track to open to traffic in Martinsville before the end of the year."

Nice to hear after I keep checking on I-69 for a few years.

[mukade]

Drone videos of the I-69 construction would be a great compliment to the this great Indiana Interstate history document someone spent a lot of time and effort to create.

Whoa...do you have a link to the rest of that document?

I read the document a few years ago, and was very impressed that all of that was documented so carefully. Unfortunately, I have changed PCs, and I did not keep my bookmarks.

The way I found it today was by using these words in a Google search: "purdue history of interstate highway system in indiana". That returns several of the volumes, at least.

Consolidating all of the I-69 articles from 2008 to now would also be a great addendum to this Purdue collection.

[ITB]

Came across some tidbits in Volume 3 of Ripple's 1975 dissertation "History of the Interstate Highway System in Indiana":

"Before the mileage within the 40,000-mile limitation was officially designated on August 2, 1947, most of the state highway departments reviewed the initial selections and in many cases suggested additional mileage for inclusion in the Interstate System. The Indiana State Highway Department proposed several additional Interstate routes, including a route from Indianapolis to Cincinnati; a route from Evansville to the Calumet Area paralleling US 41; a route from Indianapolis to Benton Harbor, Michigan, via South Bend; and a route from Indianapolis to Evansville. (Ripple, p. 376)
...

"As noted earlier, Evansville was one of the few cities of over 100,000 persons not served by the Interstate System. To correct this condition, Indiana proposed inclusion of Evansville by the extension of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville to link with Interstate 24. Due to the fact that Interstate 24 terminated at Nashville and Interstate 64 went through Vincennes instead of Evansville, the extension of Interstate 69 lacked continuity. Furthermore, the corridor lacked sufficient traffic generation and was primarily intrastate in character. The proposed addition proved unsuccessful." (Ripple, p. 378)

For those interested in reading more of Volume 3, Route History, as well as other sections of Ripple's report, click here.

[SkyPesos]

^ Though didn't I-64 later get rerouted via Evansville, paralleling the US 460 corridor between St Louis and Louisville, rather than the previously planned US 50/150 via Vincennes, because of some sort of pressure from Evansville for an interstate?

[mukade]

I-64 was re-routed southward after construction along the original route started in Indiana and Illinois. That is why US 50 around Vincennes is a freeway.

The Evansville to Calumet area (i.e. NW Indiana) was proposed to be I-61.

[Rick Powell]

I-64 was re-routed southward after construction along the original route started in Indiana and Illinois. That is why US 50 around Vincennes is a freeway.

The story of the "southern alignment" vs. the "northern (US 50) alignment" of I-64 starts at p. 500 of the Purdue document.

https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2910&context=jtrp

Apparently the southern alignment was finalized after assurances to the locals that the US 50 corridor would be improved regardless of the shift of I-64 to the south.

[silverback1065]

i find it baffling that 64 doesn't go through evansville. why would they ever consider vincennes? it was never and has never been a major city in the state compared to evansville.

[triplemultiplex]

The idea was to take as straight a shot as possible between Louisville and St. Louis.  I doubt planners cared about Vincennes.

Interesting to learn how far back the idea of extending I-69 to Evansville goes; basically to the beginning of the system.  70 years later, the last piece will soon fall into place.

[Life in Paradise]

The idea was to take as straight a shot as possible between Louisville and St. Louis.  I doubt planners cared about Vincennes.

Interesting to learn how far back the idea of extending I-69 to Evansville goes; basically to the beginning of the system.  70 years later, the last piece will soon fall into place.

From the way that I look at things, the routing they have now is just about as straight as the one that was planned, since apparently they were going down the US150 corridor from Loogootee/Shoals, and that would have made an arc south anyway.  Had they gone further south, they could have served Evansville directly, went east and also set up closer proximity to Owensboro (until recently 3rd largest city in KY, but NOT third largest metro).  Evansville's population in the 50's was between 130-140k, which is about 20k larger than today, but more importantly the US population has doubled since then so Evansville's pop respectively was a much larger miss at that time.

[mukade]

From 1950 to now, the Evansville metro population has more than doubled from 160,000 to 360,000. This metro area includes three counties in Indiana and two counties in Kentucky, but Indiana accounts for about 300,000. Evansville definitely was slighted in the original Interstate plans.

As far as I can see, Evansville is the largest metro inside the large area from Indianapolis to St. Louis to Memphis to Nashville to Louisville and then back to Indy. Clarksville, TN is the second largest unless I missed something.