Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

[Moose]

Bridge replacement has just started on Section 5, they started on the one at  39°20'8.18"N  86°30'40.55"W. Bryant's Creek bridge.

All traffic is using the SB lanes between the two middle crossovers just placed.

I grabbed a shot from my car with the traffic stop and go.

Took me 2 hours to get from Bloomington to Indianapolis.



I tried to video it, but the IPAD ran outa memory. I will post the video when it's done processing anyway. Kinda boring. Most of it is stop and go traffic.

[Moose]

Short Video showing construction in Section 5 from Sample Road to IN48 Southbound.

[Moose]

Here is a video of the north end of the upgrade.

[ITB]

Been a while since I've put up some pics, so here's a few. Photos were taken October 4, 2015, unless otherwise noted.


The Interstate 69/State Road 37 interchange under construction in Monroe County, Indiana; looking north.

Soon a concrete median barrier wall will be erected to safely separate the north and southbound traffic lanes. The road coming in from the left is the entrance ramp to I-69 south for northbound SR 37 traffic. Opposite is the spot where northbound SR 37 begins to merge with I-69 north.

Crider & Crider, prime contractor (Indiana I-69 Project, Section 4, Segment 9).



Another photo of the SR 37 merge with I-69. Photo was taken October 11, 2015. Crider & Crider, prime contractor.



For northbound State Road 37 traffic, this is the spot where the exit ramp to Interstate 69 south veers off (left); looking northwest. On the right, SR 37 sweeps around the curve then merges with I-69 northbound. Crider & Crider, contractor.



An interesting perspective of the ramp from northbound State Road 37 to Interstate 69 south; looking southeast. Visualize vehicles coming toward you. After crossing the overpass, they will swing around and down the ramp (left), and as they merge with I-69 south, pass underneath this bridge. Crider & Crider, contractor.



The ramp that will take northbound SR 37 traffic to I-69 south; looking northwest. Crider & Crider, contractor.



Looking north toward the ramp and overpass that will carry southbound I-69 traffic to SR 37 south. For northbound I-69 traffic, the exit ramp on the right is for SR 37 south. Crider & Crider, contractor. Photo was taken October 11, 2015.



Another perspective of the ramp and overpass to SR 37 south; looking north. Work was underway with an IMT heavy drill for what seemed to be a foundation for a sign, or to fix a drainage issue. Anyone know the specific name for that wicked drill auger bit? Crider & Crider, contractor. Photo was taken October 11, 2015.

[mgk920]

For traffic to/from the Bloomington area on I-69, how far will it be between IN 37 and the next interchange to the southwest?  From what I can tell from the aerial images of the area, that will be a 'BAMMO!' transition between truly rural and urban/suburban for I-69 traffic.

It is very interesting, indeed, to see that kind of an entrance into a mid-sized metro area.

Mike

[tdindy88]

It should be ten miles from the SR 37 interchange to the SR 445 interchange. But yeah, the transition will be pretty close to what you described and I'm sure that's the way Bloomington and Monroe County wants it. Actually the transition will be even more dramatic considering that once you leave the east side of Evansville there is pretty much no services or signs of development all the way north to Bloomington.

[Moose]

It looks like bridge beams have arrived for the Kinser Pike overpass friday.

I am guessing they are for Kinser Pike. They are staging the trucks at the unused southernmost crossover just south of where the lanes split to go down the big hill.

[thefro]

It should be ten miles from the SR 37 interchange to the SR 445 interchange. But yeah, the transition will be pretty close to what you described and I'm sure that's the way Bloomington and Monroe County wants it. Actually the transition will be even more dramatic considering that once you leave the east side of Evansville there is pretty much no services or signs of development all the way north to Bloomington.

The big thing initially will be going from the new terrain segments with no services or signs to a very well developed stretch of freeway between SR 45/2nd and SR 46/17th.

The area south of SR 45 has much lower traffic counts right now and is more rural.  Think they're putting in some sound walls but you can't see a lot that's off the road besides trees.  I'm sure that'll eventually get built up more and as more traffic is added that's where you'll see the big transition.

[Moose]

They are indeed installing the new bridge beams for Kinser pike

[noelbotevera]

Been a while since I've put up some pics, so here's a few. Photos were taken October 4, 2015, unless otherwise noted.


The Interstate 69/State Road 37 interchange under construction in Monroe County, Indiana; looking north.

Soon a concrete median barrier wall will be erected to safely separate the north and southbound traffic lanes. The road coming in from the left is the entrance ramp to I-69 south for northbound SR 37 traffic. Opposite is the spot where northbound SR 37 begins to merge with I-69 north.

Crider & Crider, prime contractor (Indiana I-69 Project, Section 4, Segment 9).



Another photo of the SR 37 merge with I-69. Photo was taken October 11, 2015. Crider & Crider, prime contractor.



For northbound State Road 37 traffic, this is the spot where the exit ramp to Interstate 69 south veers off (left); looking northwest. On the right, SR 37 sweeps around the curve then merges with I-69 northbound. Crider & Crider, contractor.



An interesting perspective of the ramp from northbound State Road 37 to Interstate 69 south; looking southeast. Visualize vehicles coming toward you. After crossing the overpass, they will swing around and down the ramp (left), and as they merge with I-69 south, pass underneath this bridge. Crider & Crider, contractor.



The ramp that will take northbound SR 37 traffic to I-69 south; looking northwest. Crider & Crider, contractor.



Looking north toward the ramp and overpass that will carry southbound I-69 traffic to SR 37 south. For northbound I-69 traffic, the exit ramp on the right is for SR 37 south. Crider & Crider, contractor. Photo was taken October 11, 2015.



Another perspective of the ramp and overpass to SR 37 south; looking north. Work was underway with an IMT heavy drill for what seemed to be a foundation for a sign, or to fix a drainage issue. Anyone know the specific name for that wicked drill auger bit? Crider & Crider, contractor. Photo was taken October 11, 2015.

Just wondering, do you think you can check out the construction for I-69 in Morgan County or is there nothing there yet?

[Moose]

Just wondering, do you think you can check out the construction for I-69 in Morgan County or is there nothing there yet?

Plenty going on in Morgan County.

Just watch my video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hw4CxEeK3g

[rickmastfan67]

noelbotevera, please don't quote an entire post full of photos to ask a simple question unless you're commenting on each individual photo.  For you post, all you would have needed to do is just leave the first line of his text (or maybe leave the first photo) and delete the rest of the stuff in the quote area.

[thefro]

Well, we're in the second to last week of October now... so I suspect we should get some sort of announcement regarding Section 4 opening up to traffic in the next few weeks (or partially opening up or getting delayed).

[Moose]

bridge beams are all in place at the Kinser pike overpass.

[noelbotevera]

Well, we're in the second to last week of October now... so I suspect we should get some sort of announcement regarding Section 4 opening up to traffic in the next few weeks (or partially opening up or getting delayed).

Wanna bet it'll be in November?

[Moose]

Well, we're in the second to last week of October now... so I suspect we should get some sort of announcement regarding Section 4 opening up to traffic in the next few weeks (or partially opening up or getting delayed).

Wanna bet it'll be in November?

Just really depends on the weather. It's been really dry. But there have been a couple nights already near freezing.

[noelbotevera]

Well, we're in the second to last week of October now... so I suspect we should get some sort of announcement regarding Section 4 opening up to traffic in the next few weeks (or partially opening up or getting delayed).

Wanna bet it'll be in November?

Just really depends on the weather. It's been really dry. But there have been a couple nights already near freezing.

http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USIN0305:1:US(not sure how to do the word trick with urls)

Up there is the weather.com monthly link for the rest of October, in Indianapolis. It's mostly some fair chances of rain and around 50-70 degree weather.

[andy]

Well, we're in the second to last week of October now... so I suspect we should get some sort of announcement regarding Section 4 opening up to traffic in the next few weeks (or partially opening up or getting delayed).

Wanna bet it'll be in November?

I'm not feeling too sure about November. There is still the mixer plant and a couple of big piles of aggregate in the middle of the South/West lanes east of SR 45.  Guessing a week to tear it down, a week to grade the road and set the dowel rods, a few days to pave, curing time, painting, etc.  That's got to take most of a month if the temperatures stay good. I don't think we'll see it before Thanksgiving.

[ITB]

Just wondering, do you think you can check out the construction for I-69 in Morgan County or is there nothing there yet?

As Moose's video shows, there's a lot of work occurring in Morgan County. Crews are mainly working in the median to improve the drainage system and to upgrade the shoulders, bringing SR 37 up to interstate standards. Construction of the interchange at Liberty Church Road has not yet started. Of the 21 miles in Section 5, only five are in Morgan County.

Here's a quick rundown of my take where things stand for Section 5:

Interchanges
Fullerton Pike – construction is underway; probably 10—20% complete (my guesstimate, and, please, keep in mind, I'm no expert)
Tapp Road – probably Spring 2016 start
Sample Road – construction has not yet started; might start late fall/early winter
Liberty Church Road – probably Spring 2016 start

Overpasses
Rockport Road – complete
Vernal Pike – construction is underway; probably about 40% complete (guesstimate)
Kinser Pike – construction is underway; about 50—60% complete (again, my guesstimate)
Chambers Pike – construction has not yet started

Road
Additional travel lanes from That Road to SR 46 – about 60—75% complete (It's really impressive how quickly crews are completing this part of the project. South of Tapp Road, sections of the median barrier wall are now in place.)

As for the service roads north of Bloomington, work is underway, but hard to say to what degree of progress.

Bridges
Bryants Creek – construction is underway to upgrade to interstate standards
Griffy Creek – expansion work has not yet started
Beanblossom Creek – expansion work not yet started

All in all, Section 5 is humming.

[noelbotevera]

Well, we're in the second to last week of October now... so I suspect we should get some sort of announcement regarding Section 4 opening up to traffic in the next few weeks (or partially opening up or getting delayed).

Wanna bet it'll be in November?

I'm not feeling too sure about November. There is still the mixer plant and a couple of big piles of aggregate in the middle of the South/West lanes east of SR 45.  Guessing a week to tear it down, a week to grade the road and set the dowel rods, a few days to pave, curing time, painting, etc.  That's got to take most of a month if the temperatures stay good. I don't think we'll see it before Thanksgiving.

A week or two if INDOT starts relying on cut working (they really should, as winter starts in about two months, and it gets really cold in about 2 weeks to a month).

[Moose]

Lots of heavy off road construction equipment being assembled at Sample road.

Off road dump trucks (huge ones)
Other items

[ITB]

With the winds and cold of winter not too far off, and Section 4 still under construction, some of you may be wondering whether the road will completed and opened to traffic by the end of the year. Following is an update on the current status of Section 4 from my perspective. Please be aware and keep in mind I am only a construction observer and have no inside info, nor have I ever been employed in the construction industry.

At this juncture, of the 27 miles of Section 4, the vast majority of mainline roadway has been paved. Some paving work remains, roughly 3 to 5 lanes miles, but that should be completed by the end of the first week of November or soon thereafter. About 85% of Section 4 will feature Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP). Only Segments 2 and 9 will be asphalt. Both of these are rather short at 2.68 and 1.8 miles, respectively.

According to INDOT specs, paving with Portland Cement Concrete cannot be undertaken if temperatures fall below 35 degrees or if the roadbed is frozen. But with all mainline concrete paving on the verge of finishing, the coming cold weather is much less a factor.

Once the paving with concrete completes, the focus will turn toward shoulders. Already a great amount of shoulder work has been carried out, but in areas in which the mainline was more recently paved or soon will be, shoulder work has not yet started. In all likelihood, contractors will be using Warm-Mix Asphalt for the shoulders. Haven't yet heard of warm-mix? It's a relatively new asphalt formulation that's been around a few years and is increasing popular with contractors. It's been estimated 30% of the paving carried out in the United States now uses WMA. One of the many benefits of WMA is an extended paving season. The old adage that when cold weather strikes, paving ceases, is no longer as true as before. With warm-mix, contractors in many parts of the U.S. can now pave in November and early December, and start as early as March. Crider and Crider, the contractor for Section 4's Segment 9, most likely used warm-mix when they paved the southbound I-69/State Road 37 ramp during the first two weeks of December last year.

Contractors for the two short stretches of road that will be paved with asphalt are both well on their way to finishing up. The entire I-69/SR 37 interchange, Crider's Segment 9, is now completely paved, albeit with only the first layer of asphalt. And they still have a full November and an early December, if needed. Millstone Weber/Kolb, the contractor for Segment 2, disassembled their large field office about a month ago. They are probably very close to wrapping up.

E & B Paving, the prime contractor for Segments 6 and 7 of Section 4, and the paving sub for Segment 8, has a nice rundown on warm-mix asphalt on their website. Here's the link:

http://ebpaving.com/solutions/warm-mix-asphalt/

Section 4 contractors will likely be working to finish up the shoulders of I-69 throughout November and early December. After that, it's sign work and striping, and, perhaps, a few final tasks to completely finish a bridge or overpass, such as end points and approaches. There's probably some work that I am not cognizant of that still needs to be taken care of, but construction in Section 4 is quickly approaching an end.

There are two upcoming benchmarks to look forward to: (1) the date when INDOT will either announce the opening date for Section 4 this year or whether the opening will be postponed to spring 2016, and (2) the actual date when Section 4 will open to traffic. Before making any announcement, INDOT likely will wait until all mainline paving and most shoulder work completes. They will want definitive evidence whether Section 4 will complete this year or not. As for the specific timing of a potential announcement, while it could be next week or as late as December, the week of Thanksgiving when construction work takes a pause seems ideal.

[silverback1065]

With the winds and cold of winter not too far off, and Section 4 still under construction, some of you may be wondering whether the road will completed and opened to traffic by the end of the year. Following is an update on the current status of Section 4 from my perspective. Please be aware and keep in mind I am only a construction observer and have no inside info, nor have I ever been employed in the construction industry.

At this juncture, of the 27 miles of Section 4, the vast majority of mainline roadway has been paved. Some paving work remains, roughly 3 to 5 lanes miles, but that should be completed by the end of the first week of November or soon thereafter. About 85% of Section 4 will feature Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP). Only Segments 2 and 9 will be asphalt. Both of these are rather short at 2.68 and 1.8 miles, respectively.

According to INDOT specs, paving with Portland Cement Concrete cannot be undertaken if temperatures fall below 35 degrees or if the roadbed is frozen. But with all mainline concrete paving on the verge of finishing, the coming cold weather is much less a factor.

Once the paving with concrete completes, the focus will turn toward shoulders. Already a great amount of shoulder work has been carried out, but in areas in which the mainline was more recently paved or soon will be, shoulder work has not yet started. In all likelihood, contractors will be using Warm-Mix Asphalt for the shoulders. Haven't yet heard of warm-mix? It's a relatively new asphalt formulation that's been around a few years and is increasing popular with contractors. It's been estimated 30% of the paving carried out in the United States now uses WMA. One of the many benefits of WMA is an extended paving season. The old adage that when cold weather strikes, paving ceases, is no longer as true as before. With warm-mix, contractors in many parts of the U.S. can now pave in November and early December, and start as early as March. Crider and Crider, the contractor for Section 4's Segment 9, most likely used warm-mix when they paved the southbound I-69/State Road 37 ramp during the first two weeks of December last year.

Contractors for the two short stretches of road that will be paved with asphalt are both well on their way to finishing up. The entire I-69/SR 37 interchange, Crider's Segment 9, is now completely paved, albeit with only the first layer of asphalt. And they still have a full November and an early December, if needed. Millstone Weber/Kolb, the contractor for Segment 2, disassembled their large field office about a month ago. They are probably very close to wrapping up.

E & B Paving, the prime contractor for Segments 6 and 7 of Section 4, and the paving sub for Segment 8, has a nice rundown on warm-mix asphalt on their website. Here's the link:

http://ebpaving.com/solutions/warm-mix-asphalt/

Section 4 contractors will likely be working to finish up the shoulders of I-69 throughout November and early December. After that, it's sign work and striping, and, perhaps, a few final tasks to completely finish a bridge or overpass, such as end points and approaches. There's probably some work that I am not cognizant of that still needs to be taken care of, but construction in Section 4 is quickly approaching an end.

There are two upcoming benchmarks to look forward to: (1) the date when INDOT will either announce the opening date for Section 4 this year or whether the opening will be postponed to spring 2016, and (2) the actual date when Section 4 will open to traffic. Before making any announcement, INDOT likely will wait until all mainline paving and most shoulder work completes. They will want definitive evidence whether Section 4 will complete this year or not. As for the specific timing of a potential announcement, while it could be next week or as late as December, the week of Thanksgiving when construction work takes a pause seems ideal.

Warm mix asphalt?  do you mean Hot mix asphalt? I've only heard of HMA and CMA (Cold mix), CMA only used for potholes in the winter.  I'm assuming WMA is in between HMA and CMA, in terms of temperature. 

[Rick Powell]

Warm mix asphalt?  do you mean Hot mix asphalt? I've only heard of HMA and CMA (Cold mix), CMA only used for potholes in the winter.  I'm assuming WMA is in between HMA and CMA, in terms of temperature. 

WMA is a product that attempts to improve on the constructability and environmental properties of asphalt mix.  Federal Highway Administration has a good summary here.  https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc-1/wma.cfm

[ITB]

Time for some pics. I'll start with some two weeks old. Photos were taken October 10, 2015, unless other indicated.


Milestone Contractors paving northbound mainline about 1/4 mile north of State Road 54 in Greene County, Indiana; looking north. The bridge in the background is for Hobbieville Road.

Milestone Contractors LP (Indiana I-69 Project, Section 4, Segments 4/5/6a).



At Hobbieville Road in Greene County, the road is ready to receive Portland Cement Concrete Pavement; looking north.



The bridge that carries Hobbieville Road over I-69; looking slightly northwest. The bridge approaches were paved with asphalt and striped, but the side walls needed concrete and guardrails.



The view looking north from Hobbieville Road. Both north and southbound mainline is now most likely paved all the way to the end of Segment 5 near Carmichael Road.



Another perspective looking north from Hobbieville Road in Greene County.