Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

[ITB]

ITB will you be doing pictures for the North Split construction?

SM-G950U

be careful if you do, they're doing a lot of demo right now, drove by this morning and the vermont st bridge is almost gone! the pavement has been rubblized too.

Will I be taking pictures of the North Split project? Probably not. If I have reason to be in Indy and I have the camera with me, perhaps I'll take a look. But don't count on it.

On the INDOT webpage for the project, a handful of construction photos have been uploaded, and are found here. I'm sure many more will be added as construction progresses.

[SSR_317]

...

Closer view. I have little idea when this section of State Road 37 was constructed with concrete, but guessing, it might have been in the 1970s or 80s. Later, at some point, an asphalt overlay was put down, and now, that's been milled off.

...

I believe that section was constructed sometime between 1972 & 1974. I matriculated to the IU Bloomington campus in August of '74, and by then most all of the conversion of State Road 37 to a 4-lane expressway/rural arterial between B'twon & Indy had already been completed, save for one short stretch on the south side of Marion County (south of Southport Road). But that last section was completed and open by the end of 1974.

[bmeiser]

ITB will you be doing pictures for the North Split construction?

SM-G950U

I just took a couple from the Monon trail detour of the overpasses for what would have been over 69 (or 169) and the surrounding construction. Definitely not ITB quality but might be interesting to some. Debating on whether to post in indiana notes or start a north split thread. Thoughts?

[ibthebigd]

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eaaroads%2Ecom%2Fforum%2Findex%2Ephp%3Ftopic%3D27307%2E0&share_tid=27307&share_fid=74954&share_type=t&link_source=app

The I-65/70 North Split Reconstruction

SM-G950U

[bmeiser]

That's what I get for subscribing to 5 threads and only reading those... thanks!

[ITB]

Here's a few more pictures. Little tardy in getting these posted, but better late than never. Photos were taken Saturday, May 8, 2021, unless otherwise noted.

Indiana I-69 Corridor Project; Section 6; Martinsville segment

Construction of the overpass that will carry I-69 over Ohio Street/Mahalasville Road in Martinsville, Indiana; looking slightly southeast. The road pictured is Ohio Street. A full interchange will be built at this location.


Closer look. Ohio Street, which is visible in the background right, will be shifted to the east and will pass under I-69 right here.


Another perspective; looking south. A sliver of Ohio Street is on the right.


Looking southwest.


Construction of the MSE (Mechanized Stabilized Earth) wall for the east abutment of the overpass; looking east.


Ohio Street work zone; looking east.

[ITB]

Here's a few recent ones of work underway in Marion County. Photos were taken Saturday, May 22, 2021.

Indiana I-69 Corridor Project; Section 6; Marion County

Construction of the bridge that will carry a new frontage road over Pleasant Run Creek in Marion County; looking northwest.


Another perspective; looking north. The road in the background running horizontally across the frame is Wicker Road. The new western frontage road in this area will begin at Wicker Road and will run south, parallel to I-69, all the way to Old State Road 37 just north of State Road 144. It will intersect with County Line Road and Smith Valley Road at traffic circles, and Fairview Road at an intersection.


Closer look at the bridge pilings; looking north.

To provide better perspective, here's a overhead photo of the SR 37/County Line Road intersection from INDOT's I-69 Finish Line webpage.


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
The State Road 37/County Line Road intersection; looking north. The bridge work pictured in the above photos is occurring near the shed-like structure and clearing in the mid-background, left-center.


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
Planned Construction Start Map of southern Marion County and northern Johnson County. Pleasant Run Creek is denoted by the small, squiggly line near the western traffic circle of the County Line Road interchange.

A series of Planned Construction Start Maps for Section 6 on INDOT's I-69 Finish Line webpage can be found here.

[GreenLanternCorps]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

[Avalanchez71]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

[edwaleni]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

Oh? How so?

[SkyPesos]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

Oh? How so?

He's generally opposed to 6 laning busy rural interstates if you look at some of his other posts, so not a surprise that there's concern for overbuilding here.

[Avalanchez71]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

Oh? How so?

Evansville to Washington was a breeze on IN 57.  I am actually surprised that as much of it actually exists in IN due to the highway mileage cap.

[NWI_Irish96]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

Oh? How so?

Evansville to Washington was a breeze on IN 57.  I am actually surprised that as much of it actually exists in IN due to the highway mileage cap.

Evansville to Washington was a breeze on IN 57 because the trucks were all using I-69, plus the state is not up against the mileage cap.

[Avalanchez71]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

Travel was completed heretofore the I-69 completion.

Oh? How so?

Evansville to Washington was a breeze on IN 57.  I am actually surprised that as much of it actually exists in IN due to the highway mileage cap.

Evansville to Washington was a breeze on IN 57 because the trucks were all using I-69, plus the state is not up against the mileage cap.

Travel was completed heretofore the I-69 completion.

[GaryV]

Travel was completed heretofore the I-69 completion.

Travel was completed on the old Boston Post Road too.  Or on foot via the original Grand River Trail in Michigan, or through the Cumberland Gap.  Or via covered wagon on the Oregon Trail.

In your mind does that mean I-95, I-96, US-25E and I-80 are "overbuilt"?

[Avalanchez71]

Travel was completed heretofore the I-69 completion.

Travel was completed on the old Boston Post Road too.  Or on foot via the original Grand River Trail in Michigan, or through the Cumberland Gap.  Or via covered wagon on the Oregon Trail.

In your mind does that mean I-95, I-96, US-25E and I-80 are "overbuilt"?

Is that a joke?  I-95 is needed due to the baby boomers (growth rate) and urban flight. 

[The Ghostbuster]

I doubt Interstate 69 between Evansville and Indianapolis will be "overbuilt". If you ask me, maybe it should have been built when the Indianapolis-to-Michigan segment was built. Of course, that may have been pie-in-the-sky to try and do that back then, but it probably could have been justified.

[ITB]

State Road 37, between I-465 and State Road 144 to the south, is in no way a rural highway. It is a heavily traveled arterial road. The upgrade to interstate standards, in my mind, was long overdue. The overhead photo posted earlier (and posted again below) is somewhat deceiving as it appears to depict a rural landscape. However, it is anything but. To the west of State Road 37, development is indeed sparse due the floodplain of the White River. To the east, however, in Greenwood and Johnson County, suburban development has exploded over the past 30 years, and there are few signs, if any, of it slowing.


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
The State Road 37/County Line Road intersection, prior to the start of construction; looking north. County Line Road denotes the border between Johnson and Marion counties.


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
The State Road 37/Southport Road intersection; looking southwest.


Courtesy Google Maps.
Satellite image of the area near State Road 37 in southern Marion County and northern Johnson County.

[Life in Paradise]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

Oh? How so?

Evansville to Washington was a breeze on IN 57.  I am actually surprised that as much of it actually exists in IN due to the highway mileage cap.

There are a lot of times that it could be.  I've driven that stretch for decades.  There are also times when it was not due to traffic (school buses, farm vehicles, etc) as well as going through various villages.  The interstate with being able to cruise at 75 without worrying about anything rather than straining my eyes for those road regulators if I got up to 65 or above makes for a much more enjoyable trip these days to Indianapolis(and hopefully in the next few years!

[silverback1065]

I never understood why Greenwood hasn't annexed all of Center Grove. I always thought that area was Greenwood proper but weirdly it isn't.

[silverback1065]

Nice to see that construction has reached Marion County/Indianapolis.  It is a sign that we are nearer to the end than the beginning of this project.

This corridor is now going to be overbuilt.

Oh? How so?

Evansville to Washington was a breeze on IN 57.  I am actually surprised that as much of it actually exists in IN due to the highway mileage cap.

There are a lot of times that it could be.  I've driven that stretch for decades.  There are also times when it was not due to traffic (school buses, farm vehicles, etc) as well as going through various villages.  The interstate with being able to cruise at 75 without worrying about anything rather than straining my eyes for those road regulators if I got up to 65 or above makes for a much more enjoyable trip these days to Indianapolis(and hopefully in the next few years!

69 from 37 south to 64 has been referred to the "Indiana Autobahn" I think you mean going 95 mph 

[sprjus4]

Any new construction to Avalanchez that wasn't authorized in 1956 or 1968 is "overbuilt"  and a "pork"  project. This includes rural widening to 6 lanes on busy interstate corridors that desperately need it, or even urban widening.

I'd go to say if he was around then, he would argue the 1956 interstate highway system was a pork project and waste of taxpayer money cause we had perfectly fine arterials connecting our cities, roads already existed, why build new ones?

[tdindy88]

I never understood why Greenwood hasn't annexed all of Center Grove. I always thought that area was Greenwood proper but weirdly it isn't.

I always wondered the same. In essence I think those in Center Grove, or White River Township prefer not to belong to Greenwood. Anyway they mostly all have Greenwood addresses so there is that.

Speaking of the I-69 corridor I saw recently that Indianapolis is planning a project to widen County Line Road from the new I-69 interchange east to SR 135 to start in 2024. The plan calls for the road to be widened (though the number of lanes, be it 3 or 5 is yet to be determined) along with improving the intersections with Morgantown and Railroad Roads. This should make County Line a full five lane roadway connecting I-69 with I-65.

[NWI_Irish96]

I never understood why Greenwood hasn't annexed all of Center Grove. I always thought that area was Greenwood proper but weirdly it isn't.

I always wondered the same. In essence I think those in Center Grove, or White River Township prefer not to belong to Greenwood. Anyway they mostly all have Greenwood addresses so there is that.

Speaking of the I-69 corridor I saw recently that Indianapolis is planning a project to widen County Line Road from the new I-69 interchange east to SR 135 to start in 2024. The plan calls for the road to be widened (though the number of lanes, be it 3 or 5 is yet to be determined) along with improving the intersections with Morgantown and Railroad Roads. This should make County Line a full five lane roadway connecting I-69 with I-65.

I have in-laws in Center Grove/White River Twp. They definitely would not want to be annexed into Greenwood.

[silverback1065]

I never understood why Greenwood hasn't annexed all of Center Grove. I always thought that area was Greenwood proper but weirdly it isn't.

I always wondered the same. In essence I think those in Center Grove, or White River Township prefer not to belong to Greenwood. Anyway they mostly all have Greenwood addresses so there is that.

Speaking of the I-69 corridor I saw recently that Indianapolis is planning a project to widen County Line Road from the new I-69 interchange east to SR 135 to start in 2024. The plan calls for the road to be widened (though the number of lanes, be it 3 or 5 is yet to be determined) along with improving the intersections with Morgantown and Railroad Roads. This should make County Line a full five lane roadway connecting I-69 with I-65.

It looks like in the interim there will be a signal placed at railroad and county line. This cooridor needs widening badly.