Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

[NWI_Irish96]

I have always wondered about this particular culvert, and what function is serves. Was it originally built for drainage reasons, to serve as a wildlife undercrossing, or both? Or for some other purpose altogether? If anyone knows the answer, please share!

It looks suspiciously like a "cattle pass" of which some were built on the original construction of I-80 in IL. If so, it might be a candidate for removal if not needed with current land uses.

I was thinking an undercrossing for Amish buggies. There are some of those on the interstates across northern Indiana due to the large Amish population there.

I'm not aware of any underpasses in Indiana that were created specifically for Amish buggies. The highways have abnormally wide shoulders, and that might also make a highway underpass wider, but not *just* for Amish buggies.

[bmeiser]

The thought of cows anywhere around 465 currently is amusing to me. I'm sure it's entirely possible that there was farmland down there when 465 was built and before the quarries were dug.

Pixel 6

[edwaleni]

I have always wondered about this particular culvert, and what function is serves. Was it originally built for drainage reasons, to serve as a wildlife undercrossing, or both? Or for some other purpose altogether? If anyone knows the answer, please share!

It looks suspiciously like a "cattle pass" of which some were built on the original construction of I-80 in IL. If so, it might be a candidate for removal if not needed with current land uses.

It was built for the quarry company when they owned both sides of I-465. When I-465 was built it split the quarry owned property in two, so INDOT installed the culvert so that they could take water out of the Harding Street quarry and continue to have it flow down to Hare Ditch (which eventually emptied into the White River). Since then the quarry company has quarried all that land south of Thompson and Epler and cut off Hare Ditch from reaching the White. So the water in Harding is now pumped out and dumped into Thompson Run Creek on the north side of the property. This made the culvert worthless and is legacy now. The culvert has been filled in south of Thompson Road.

[silverback1065]

I have always wondered about this particular culvert, and what function is serves. Was it originally built for drainage reasons, to serve as a wildlife undercrossing, or both? Or for some other purpose altogether? If anyone knows the answer, please share!

It looks suspiciously like a "cattle pass" of which some were built on the original construction of I-80 in IL. If so, it might be a candidate for removal if not needed with current land uses.

It was built for the quarry company when they owned both sides of I-465. When I-465 was built it split the quarry owned property in two, so INDOT installed the culvert so that they could take water out of the Harding Street quarry and continue to have it flow down to Hare Ditch (which eventually emptied into the White River). Since then the quarry company has quarried all that land south of Thompson and Epler and cut off Hare Ditch from reaching the White. So the water in Harding is now pumped out and dumped into Thompson Run Creek on the north side of the property. This made the culvert worthless and is legacy now. The culvert has been filled in south of Thompson Road.

interesting, had no idea!

[edwaleni]

I have always wondered about this particular culvert, and what function is serves. Was it originally built for drainage reasons, to serve as a wildlife undercrossing, or both? Or for some other purpose altogether? If anyone knows the answer, please share!

It looks suspiciously like a "cattle pass" of which some were built on the original construction of I-80 in IL. If so, it might be a candidate for removal if not needed with current land uses.

It was built for the quarry company when they owned both sides of I-465. When I-465 was built it split the quarry owned property in two, so INDOT installed the culvert so that they could take water out of the Harding Street quarry and continue to have it flow down to Hare Ditch (which eventually emptied into the White River). Since then the quarry company has quarried all that land south of Thompson and Epler and cut off Hare Ditch from reaching the White. So the water in Harding is now pumped out and dumped into Thompson Run Creek on the north side of the property. This made the culvert worthless and is legacy now. The culvert has been filled in south of Thompson Road.

interesting, had no idea!

Yes, after the quarry company stopped using it, they built up that ridge of dirt along the north side of I-465 ROW so you can't see inside the quarry property.

That is why it looks so out of place today.

[Avalanchez71]

The project should have ended at the I-465 interchange.  Beyond that further south what a colossal waste of $$$.

I have driven through said corridor.

[I-39]

Av thinks all freeways are wastes of taxpayer money. At least he's being consistent.

He thinks anything more than a two lane country road with narrow lanes and no shoulders is excessive.

[silverback1065]

fictional, but back in the US Highway era, I would have created a Memphis to FT Wayne US Highway (that goes through Evansville) called US 39.

[GreenLanternCorps]

Big Rig Steve drove by the I-465 and Future I-69 interchange construction yesterday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNIlHJgnVG0

Its starting at the 7:58:11 mark

Mostly dirt, but a decent enough view off to his right.

[ITB]

I have always wondered about this particular culvert, and what function is serves. Was it originally built for drainage reasons, to serve as a wildlife undercrossing, or both? Or for some other purpose altogether? If anyone knows the answer, please share!

It looks suspiciously like a "cattle pass" of which some were built on the original construction of I-80 in IL. If so, it might be a candidate for removal if not needed with current land uses.

It was built for the quarry company when they owned both sides of I-465. When I-465 was built it split the quarry owned property in two, so INDOT installed the culvert so that they could take water out of the Harding Street quarry and continue to have it flow down to Hare Ditch (which eventually emptied into the White River). Since then the quarry company has quarried all that land south of Thompson and Epler and cut off Hare Ditch from reaching the White. So the water in Harding is now pumped out and dumped into Thompson Run Creek on the north side of the property. This made the culvert worthless and is legacy now. The culvert has been filled in south of Thompson Road.

Thumbs up! Thanks for taking the time to look into this and sharing.

[Rick Powell]

The "quarry pass" is reminiscent of the cement company openings just south of US 6 on I-39 in La Salle IL. At one time there were conveyor systems running across the interchange and through the culverts to carry the material from the quarry to the cement processing plant.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3352168,-89.0711443,3a,75y,309.91h,80.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPInO48VsmUvK2vEdTRoldQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[edwaleni]

The "quarry pass" is reminiscent of the cement company openings just south of US 6 on I-39 in La Salle IL. At one time there were conveyor systems running across the interchange and through the culverts to carry the material from the quarry to the cement processing plant.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3352168,-89.0711443,3a,75y,309.91h,80.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPInO48VsmUvK2vEdTRoldQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Rick,

That is exactly what I thought it was, but I can't find any evidence they ran a conveyor belt through there. It may have been built with that in mind, but just never used.

I-70 east of Terre Haute in Indiana has a couple of conveyor underpasses for the now closed AMAX Chinook Mine.

[westerninterloper]

The "quarry pass" is reminiscent of the cement company openings just south of US 6 on I-39 in La Salle IL. At one time there were conveyor systems running across the interchange and through the culverts to carry the material from the quarry to the cement processing plant.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3352168,-89.0711443,3a,75y,309.91h,80.81t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPInO48VsmUvK2vEdTRoldQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Rick,

That is exactly what I thought it was, but I can't find any evidence they ran a conveyor belt through there. It may have been built with that in mind, but just never used.

I-70 east of Terre Haute in Indiana has a couple of conveyor underpasses for the now closed AMAX Chinook Mine.

Those conveyer systems east of Terre Haute were removed several years ago when the mine closed. I think the sign remains, but everything else from the Amax mine was removed.

[Rick Powell]

Rick,

That is exactly what I thought it was, but I can't find any evidence they ran a conveyor belt through there. It may have been built with that in mind, but just never used.

I was involved in the original construction of I-39 and I remember seeing the conveyor belt system in place after the bridges were built. I have no pics of it, and couldn't find any online. The limestone came from near the IL River but apparently when the quarry ran out, the IL Cement Co. removed the conveyor system (it was built around 1987 when the IL River Bridge was opened, but gone by 2007, the earliest StreetView I could find). They now get their limestone from a quarry directly north of the I-80/IL 351 interchange. I did find a reference to a bridge on I-39 over "conveyor belt/road" just south of US 6 in an IDOT bridge crack sealing plan set, p. 4.

http://apps.dot.illinois.gov/eplan/desenv/112114/059-66E04/PLANS/PL-66E04-059.pdf

[edwaleni]

Rick,

That is exactly what I thought it was, but I can't find any evidence they ran a conveyor belt through there. It may have been built with that in mind, but just never used.

I was involved in the original construction of I-39 and I remember seeing the conveyor belt system in place after the bridges were built. I have no pics of it, and couldn't find any online. The limestone came from near the IL River but apparently when the quarry ran out, the IL Cement Co. removed the conveyor system (it was built around 1987 when the IL River Bridge was opened, but gone by 2007, the earliest StreetView I could find). They now get their limestone from a quarry directly north of the I-80/IL 351 interchange. I did find a reference to a bridge on I-39 over "conveyor belt/road" just south of US 6 in an IDOT bridge crack sealing plan set, p. 4.

http://apps.dot.illinois.gov/eplan/desenv/112114/059-66E04/PLANS/PL-66E04-059.pdf

Wow, that is one long conveyor route!

[ITB]

Yesterday, June 10th, there was a a major incident involving a tanker truck on the recently opened segment of new pavement near Wicker Road in Marion County. The tanker, which was traveling south on SR 37, blew a tire, smacked the barrier wall, then caught fire. All lanes, both south and northbound were closed for a considerable period. The truck driver was able to escape without injury. Because the fire spread to the roadway, it's quite possible that section of pavement was damaged, and, I imagine may have to be redone.

Here's a link to a news report:

And here's the general location were the incident occurred:


Looking northeast from the southbound exit ramp to County Line Road. In the deep background are the sidewalls of the bridge over Wicker Road. Just in front of that is the bridge over Pleasant Run Creek. Photo date: May 29, 2022.

[abqtraveler]

Yesterday, June 10th, there was a a major incident involving a tanker truck on the recently opened segment of new pavement near Wicker Road in Marion County. The tanker, which was traveling south on SR 37, blew a tire, smacked the barrier wall, then caught fire. All lanes, both south and northbound were closed for a considerable period. The truck driver was able to escape without injury. Because the fire spread to the roadway, it's quite possible that section of pavement was damaged, and, I imagine may have to be redone.

Here's a link to a news report:

And here's the general location were the incident occurred:


Looking northeast from the southbound exit ramp to County Line Road. In the deep background are the sidewalls of the bridge over Wicker Road. Just in front of that is the bridge over Pleasant Run Creek. Photo date: May 29, 2022.

It would be the trucking company's insurance that would cover the cost to repair that section, if required.

[CtrlAltDel]

It would be the trucking company's insurance that would cover the cost to repair that section, if required.

How much insurance does the average trucking company have? I can easily see damage costs dwarfing any liability coverage.

[Rick Powell]

It would be the trucking company's insurance that would cover the cost to repair that section, if required.

How much insurance does the average trucking company have? I can easily see damage costs dwarfing any liability coverage.

Depending on the damage, it may not be as much as you think, especially if the contractor can do a partial depth removal and replacement rather than a full depth, to get down to undamaged material.

[SSR_317]

I have always wondered about this particular culvert, and what function is serves. Was it originally built for drainage reasons, to serve as a wildlife undercrossing, or both? Or for some other purpose altogether? If anyone knows the answer, please share!

It looks suspiciously like a "cattle pass" of which some were built on the original construction of I-80 in IL. If so, it might be a candidate for removal if not needed with current land uses.

It was built for the quarry company when they owned both sides of I-465. When I-465 was built it split the quarry owned property in two, so INDOT installed the culvert so that they could take water out of the Harding Street quarry and continue to have it flow down to Hare Ditch (which eventually emptied into the White River). Since then the quarry company has quarried all that land south of Thompson and Epler and cut off Hare Ditch from reaching the White. So the water in Harding is now pumped out and dumped into Thompson Run Creek on the north side of the property. This made the culvert worthless and is legacy now. The culvert has been filled in south of Thompson Road.

Thank you so much for researching this. It satisfied my curiosity about this little underpass!

[SSR_317]

Big Rig Steve drove by the I-465 and Future I-69 interchange construction yesterday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNIlHJgnVG0

Its starting at the 7:58:11 mark

Mostly dirt, but a decent enough view off to his right.

And at 7:29:17 is that little mystery undercrossing that's no longer a mystery! Thanks for posting this video!

BTW, what's with all the trucks using the left lane in this traffic jam? Where's the ISP to enforce the TRUCKS AND VEHICLES WITH TRAILERS MUST USE RIGHT TWO LANES signs? The trucker who made this video is obviously one of the GOOD ones who obeys the law, but his profession is unfortunately sullied by all the left lane using bullies who think they are above the law.

[jnewkirk77]

One of the things I've noticed recently on I-69 in SW Indiana is that INDOT posted signage alerting drivers to the time zone change. This takes place at the Patoka River bridges, and the signs reading "Entering Central/Eastern Time Zone" are posted at the Pike County end northbound and the Gibson County end southbound.

A good number of the BGSs between Evansville and Washington have been recently overlaid or replaced due to storm damage since the highway opened, and I don't know who did the job, but some of the signs look really awful. I'll have to get some pics while I'm out and about.

[tdindy88]

Some of those signs have been like that for a few years. Only the very original BGSs along I-69 are of good quality. I don't know why but in Indiana it seems that any sign that has to be replaced or reconfigured is done poorly and only a completely new sign looks better.

Good to hear about the time zone signs though, that's pretty neat to hear about.

[jhuntin1]

One of the things I've noticed recently on I-69 in SW Indiana is that INDOT posted signage alerting drivers to the time zone change. <snip>

That's great. Hopefully they'll do that on I-65 up north one of these days.

[silverback1065]

One of the things I've noticed recently on I-69 in SW Indiana is that INDOT posted signage alerting drivers to the time zone change. <snip>

That's great. Hopefully they'll do that on I-65 up north one of these days.

i agree, always confused where the line is!