Indiana Notes

[bmeiser]

And they don't necessarily need to keep 465 north completely shut down during the repair.  During the demolition and cleanup, yes, but they should be able to open up the majority of the NB lanes during repair and have further restrictions at night as they set the beams/pour the bridge deck, like they do for a new bridge construction.  I bet they'll open some lanes up within a week.

[bmeiser]

I guess I should have said "I bet they'll open all lanes up within a day!

Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), law enforcement and contractor crews are safely reopening all lanes of I-465 on the west side of Indianapolis.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like these are standard beams and they'll need to be custom ordered:

New, custom concrete bridge beams must be produced, delivered and erected. Crews must install concrete forms and working platforms before new concrete decking and railings may be poured. Winter temperatures may slow concrete curing times and require special heaters or insulation.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/INDOT/bulletins/17fa81a

[silverback1065]

Kudos to indot in being fast, looks like this bridge will be done before the summer

[hbelkins]

That photo I saw showed that just about the entire damaged NB side of the bridge had been torn out. Are they going to shunt some traffic over to the other carriageway temporarily?

[silverback1065]

That photo I saw showed that just about the entire damaged NB side of the bridge had been torn out. Are they going to shunt some traffic over to the other carriageway temporarily?

Currently the highway on the bridge (us 36) is using the undamaged portion as a 2 way street.  I am not sure what the lane config is for 465 (below) i'm going to drive over there tonight to check it out. 

[cjw2001]

The loop ramp from Rockville Road / US 36 Eastbound to I 465 Northbound is closed (due to the fact that this ramp starts from the bridge lanes than no longer exist).   Other than that INDOT has managed to get everything opened back up to traffic earlier today.

[silverback1065]

Yep all 5 lanes are open

[CtrlAltDel]

Holy moly. I had just driven that part of 465 (albeit in the other direction) the night before. I remembered the bridge because I thought the fake stone was interesting.

[jhuntin1]

Massive kudos to INDOT and their contractor for getting northbound I-465 reopened in less than 36 hours. After having to take an alternate route Wednesday to get to work in Avon it was a pleasure to be able to get off on 10th St. again.

[bmeiser]

Massive kudos to INDOT and their contractor for getting northbound I-465 reopened in less than 36 hours. After having to take an alternate route Wednesday to get to work in Avon it was a pleasure to be able to get off on 10th St. again.

It looks like you're from Greenwood.  I heard 65N from the south side was hell yesterday.  Is that the route you had to take?

[jhuntin1]

It looks like you're from Greenwood.  I heard 65N from the south side was hell yesterday.  Is that the route you had to take?

No, I come up US 31 to I-465, but it was a horrible mess on 65N with all lanes closed.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Hey, did anyone heard the new proposed law coming to Indiana that requires you to yield to large trucks?

Carmel mayor pushes for statewide right-of-way change for roundabouts
Article: http://www.ibj.com/articles/62034-carmel-mayor-pushes-for-statewide-right-of-way-change-for-roundabouts

Personally, I think that it's a great idea to do this as other states like Wisconsin modified its law to yield to trucks... 

[jhuntin1]

Hey, did anyone heard the new proposed law coming to Indiana that requires you to yield to large trucks?

Carmel mayor pushes for statewide right-of-way change for roundabouts
Article: http://www.ibj.com/articles/62034-carmel-mayor-pushes-for-statewide-right-of-way-change-for-roundabouts

Personally, I think that it's a great idea to do this as other states like Wisconsin modified its law to yield to trucks... 

First time I've seen this, thanks for posting the link.

My honest opinion the first time I read it is let Carmel deal with the mess they made with all their roundabouts and create a local ordinance if it's so important. Brainard created this mess; let him deal with it and don't let him dictate to the state what should be done to fix his problem. Large trucks shouldn't be going through roundabouts to begin with, but in more and more places now they don't have a choice to get to their destinations.

I didn't know Wisconsin had changed their law, and I drive up there multiple times a year. I've never seen it signed anywhere.

[cjw2001]

What mess?  The roads in Carmel are far far better now than they were 10 years ago.

[seicer]

^This. The notion that roundabouts are far less safer than traffic signals, especially for disjointed intersections, has been proven wrong. They can also handle traffic very well, especially at higher volumes.

[hbelkins]

In Carmel, Brainard said the plan would be to let drivers know about the change through social media and different marketing techniques.

Torr made it clear that they did not want to "clutter up"  the roadside with signs. Instead, he expects the bill to be an educational tool.

I guess anyone who comes up the east side of I-465 and is using Keystone as a shortcut to get to US 31 north and gets off at one of those barbell exits is supposed to like Carmel's Facebook page, even if they're from Kentucky or Tennessee or Alabama?

Idiots. If there's a specific ordinance or condition in affect in a certain location, put a sign up.

And isn't the reason they put a truck berm on the inside of those botched abortions of intersections is to allow big rigs to cut the tight corner that roundabouts force on them?

[jhuntin1]

I'm not arguing that roundabouts are worse than signaled intersections, and I drive through them almost every day. It's almost impossible to get around Carmel without driving through at least one and they're not designed well for large trucks. Brainard's love affair with roundabouts helped create the problem.

[Revive 755]

And isn't the reason they put a truck berm on the inside of those botched abortions of intersections is to allow big rigs to cut the tight corner that roundabouts force on them?

Yes, but the truck apron would only work with single lane roundabouts.

Linked here is the text of the Wisconsin law.  Granted I am not familiar with accident liability in Wisconsin, but I have reservations that the law might be an easy way for a semi to be excused from failing to yield to traffic already in the roundabout.

(Edited to fix bad response to question)

[mgk920]

And isn't the reason they put a truck berm on the inside of those botched abortions of intersections is to allow big rigs to cut the tight corner that roundabouts force on them?

Yes, but the truck apron would only work with single lane roundabouts.

Linked here is the text of the Wisconsin law.  Granted I am not familiar with accident liability in Wisconsin, but I have reservations that the law might be an easy way for a semi to be excused from failing to yield to traffic already in the roundabout.

(Edited to fix bad response to question)

Large vehicles still have to yield before entering a roundabout, but they then have absolute priority over everything else in one - nothing else can be along side one.

It's to prevent sideswipe collisions.

Mike

[cjw2001]

It always amuses me that the ones that complain the most about roundabouts are the ones that least use them.   There is no mass discontent locally with the roundabouts.   Carmel is in the process of adding 30 more because they work well and the locals are happy with them.

[silverback1065]

pretty much every roundabout has been working well. i don't like 116th and keystone though. and 116th and hazel dell next yr is going to be crazy

[silverback1065]

there needs to be a law that you have to signal in a roundabout though

[monty]

there needs to be a law that you have to signal in a roundabout though

I agree.  It is very rare to see anyone signal in a roundabout in Indiana.  When I was driving in Ireland, everyone signaled and it was very helpful.

[cjw2001]

pretty much every roundabout has been working well. i don't like 116th and keystone though. and 116th and hazel dell next yr is going to be crazy

Same thing was said about Carmel Drive and Range Line -- and every time I've driven through that new roundabout it has been working quite well.

116th and Keystone makes people uncomfortable due to the traffic volume.   However I'd argue that being uncomfortable at a roundabout is healthy - it makes you watch out for other traffic.

[silverback1065]

pretty much every roundabout has been working well. i don't like 116th and keystone though. and 116th and hazel dell next yr is going to be crazy

Same thing was said about Carmel Drive and Range Line -- and every time I've driven through that new roundabout it has been working quite well.

it is working well there, but I've seen what the hazel dell one will look like, it's pretty weird and confusing even for a carmel roundabout.  that intersection gets about the same amount of traffic as rangeline and carmel. It will take some getting used too.