Indiana Notes

[bmeiser]

In another matter, INDOT is abandoning (at least for now) plans to install J-turns at several locations on US-24 and US-31, citing public objections. I think those objecting have a reasonable point, since the mainline traffic on both highways have posted speed limits of 60 and traffic generally flows at speeds between 65 and 70. Here's a news story: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/indiana/transportation-officials-call-off-proposed-j-turn-projects/article_2c2bb9b6-ca70-11e7-82c4-af9946d00d8a.html

I wonder where on 31 these were being considered?

they were going to be at SR 10 and 110. 

I wouldn't bother with J Turns.  There's either enough danger to warrant interchanges or there isn't.

I agree. If the plan is for a limited access highway down the road, don't waste money on a stop-gap "solution" .  Maybe they should go ahead and do interchanges at a couple of the proposed J turn locations now and then revisit in a few years when the budget allows and determine if more are needed.

[Life in Paradise]

Indiana doesn't do that.  They would rather spend 10% of the money needed to do the job right now, and then pay 150% to 200% of what they would have paid now to re-do the work in about 5 to 10 years.

[tribar]

If I have an Ipass, can I use any lane at an ITRt oll booth or can you only use the I-pass/ez-pass lanes?

[theline]

If I have an Ipass, can I use any lane at an ITRt oll booth or can you only use the I-pass/ez-pass lanes?

You can use any toll booth lane with the Ipass. If the EZpass only lane is backed up, I sometimes slide over to one of the cash lanes if it's empty.

In reality, cash, credit cards, and transponders are accepted in all lanes. If it's a barrier where tickets are issued, they are available in all lanes. Now, if you don't have a transponder, please be kind to others and stay out of the EZpass only lanes. I've been known to experience road rage waiting behind somebody who got into the EZpass lane on a hunch he has a valid transponder.

[silverback1065]

i think INDOT fucked up the us 31/465 interchange, the lane configuration for 31 makes no sense, why make the lane drops on the part of the road that gets the most traffic?  2 through lanes for meridian st, and 1 for getting on and off 465, with a BS lane that ends for both movements.  Causes traffic slowdowns every morning and evening.  Who thought this was a good idea?! I do love the tubular markers they put in the gore though.

[bmeiser]

My thought on the SB to EB movement is that it would cost significantly more to build a 2 lane flyover than 1. But it seems like something they would need in the future so why not go ahead and do it now? Damn non-forward thinking Indiana.

[silverback1065]

that's not the problem in my opinion, the flyovers are fine as 1 lane. the problem is that it should have been designed in the opposite manner:

For SB 31, have the right 2 through lanes be the lanes that exit to the interstate, not have just one, have one lane go to meridian street, then have it widen out later.  the current lane config is absurd, what the hell is the point of that right lane that appears, only to just disappear a few thousand feet up the road?!

For NB 31 have the 2 lanes from 465 E &W become 2 of the 3 through lanes on NB 31, have NB meridian come in with just one lane. 

[bmeiser]

Makes sense.  Although 465 needs increased capacity going west to handle traffic coming from 31.  Traffic on 465 west bottlenecks right at the entrance ramps from 31 at rush hour.  It's pretty awful.  Having 2 dedicated lanes on 31 for 465; one for EB and one for WB; would help the traffic on 31 south at that same time, though.  Maybe when they (hopefully) add additional lanes to 465 in that area, they'll reconfigure the lanes and ramps on 31.

[silverback1065]

it will one day be widened, the tell tale signs are there.  the ditch road bridge is going to be raised and lengthened next year, township line in 2020ish

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Northwest Indiana work is starting to break for the winter.

On I-65, lanes between Indiana 2 and US 231 will shift slightly more inside to allow for wider shoulders on both sides of the road, and the bridges over US 231, Wurtz Ditch, and Indiana 2 have been reportedly filled on the inside. Next week, lane restrictions on Indiana 2 will be lifted for the winter, but restrictions on US 231 will remain.

"Restore 94"  is set to conclude within the next week. Concrete restoration west of I-65 is nearing its end; east of I-65, all that remains is installation of RPMs on the main lanes and striping of gore points. Shoulders remain closed for completion of drainage grate replacement. New additions along the way: more traffic cameras between Indiana 249 and Indiana 49, a new overhead VMS for westbound traffic near the weigh station west of Michigan City, and flashing yellow lights for drivers transitioning from eastbound I-94 to the Indiana Toll Road (to warn of the 25 mph loop ramp, including a tipping hazard sign for trucks). New cameras have also been installed on I-65 between the Toll Road and I-80/94.

On a more local note: intersection improvement at US 30 and Mississippi Street in Merrillville is winding down, with some rather significant improvements: a second left turn lane for traffic going from westbound US 30 to southbound Mississippi Street, a second left turn lane for traffic going from southbound Mississippi to US 30 (now all left turn transitions have two lanes), traffic entering/exiting the Outback and Ashley plaza funneled to one location, and (a major improvement) a dedicated right turn lane for southbound Mississippi to westbound US 30, allowing for through traffic to use two lanes and eliminating the shared right turn snarl that has plagued traffic there for years.

[NWI_Irish96]

Hopefully evening eastbound traffic on 80/94 will move better than it has been.

[silverback1065]

indot is trying to fix their fuck up of the 31/465 interchange, new signs have been installed delineating the lanes, now the useless right lane has a use!  It is signed as the lane for WB 465, the other lane is now signed as for SB 31 and EB 465.  a few hundred feet south a bgs now shows the arrow per lane sign showing where to go.  let's hope this fixes the problem (i won't hold my breath)!

[ysuindy]

INDOT issued a press release stating that three lanes will be open on I-69 between State Road 37 and State Road 38 beginning Friday morning.

The release indicates Southbound traffic will be narrowed to two lanes at State Road 37 due to the ongoing construction of an added lane between 116th and 106th street.  This pattern is noted as the "winter traffic pattern".

I get on Southbound each day from 37, but should be travelling to Anderson on Saturday. It will be nice to have the extra lanes

[silverback1065]

I just traveled US 35 East of US 31, and I have to say, I think there is a gap in US 35 there.  It isn't signed at all until after you leave Kokomo, a few thousand feet east of 31.  If you are traveling west (or technically north) on US 35, you have no idea it turns north, joining 31.  I have no idea what genius at INDOT allowed this to happen.  NB 31 ramp to SB 35 does in fact show that 35 turns east there.  I haven't traveled the SB 31 Ramp to SB 35 ramp yet, I will tomorrow though.   

[cjw2001]

indot is trying to fix their fuck up of the 31/465 interchange, new signs have been installed delineating the lanes, now the useless right lane has a use!  It is signed as the lane for WB 465, the other lane is now signed as for SB 31 and EB 465.  a few hundred feet south a bgs now shows the arrow per lane sign showing where to go.  let's hope this fixes the problem (i won't hold my breath)!

The real problem here is inadequate lane capacity on 465 westbound, resulting in backups onto US 31 during heavy traffic periods.   I don't see anything getting better here until that problem is addressed.

[monty]

I just traveled US 35 East of US 31, and I have to say, I think there is a gap in US 35 there.  It isn't signed at all until after you leave Kokomo, a few thousand feet east of 31.  If you are traveling west (or technically north) on US 35, you have no idea it turns north, joining 31.  I have no idea what genius at INDOT allowed this to happen.  NB 31 ramp to SB 35 does in fact show that 35 turns east there.  I haven't traveled the SB 31 Ramp to SB 35 ramp yet, I will tomorrow though.   

The Eastern interchange of US 31 & US 35 / SR 22 took a direct hit from a tornado. Actually two tornadoes tore through there within 18 months. Anyway, the signs got messed up. The overhead signs were repaired but I'm thinking those that were on posts were not.

[tdindy88]

Speaking of construction projects in the state, they finished a couple of weeks ago the building of two new bridges of I-65 over I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis. The bridges look nice and are extra wide to handle any additional new lanes they may add to I-65 in the future. It was good for once to see them get a little proactive with them.

However for any positive there must also be a negative. They redid all the remaining bridges in this interchange complex, including new bridges for the NB I-65 ramp to WB I-465 and the SB I-65 ramp to EB I-465. They kept the ramps exactly where they are so that traffic has to continue entering I-465 from the left side, keeping that interchange arrangement in tact for years to come. This design is also cited as one of the reasons for keeping I-465 speed limit at 55 MPH.

Also glaring, the new bridges of these ramps over the travel lanes of I-465, one over the westbound lanes and the other over the eastbound lanes did not leave any extra room for any potential expansion of I-465 to four lanes. There is only room for three travel lanes and one ramp lane from traffic entering the highway from the left side. This means that if the interstate would be expanded to four lanes the ramps would have to go or the bridge would have to be rebuilt again.

Symbolically though in my mind this completes several years worth of construction projects that have transformed the I-65 corridor from Exit 90 in Franklin north to Exit 106 at I-465. With the exception of the crappy pavement that remains in the left three lanes of I-65 between Exits 103 and 106 (because no one ever bothered to repave that stretch at all when adding a new auxiliary lane) the roadway is much improved to handle more traffic from the southern suburbs into Indy.

[silverback1065]

Speaking of construction projects in the state, they finished a couple of weeks ago the building of two new bridges of I-65 over I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis. The bridges look nice and are extra wide to handle any additional new lanes they may add to I-65 in the future. It was good for once to see them get a little proactive with them.

However for any positive there must also be a negative. They redid all the remaining bridges in this interchange complex, including new bridges for the NB I-65 ramp to WB I-465 and the SB I-65 ramp to EB I-465. They kept the ramps exactly where they are so that traffic has to continue entering I-465 from the left side, keeping that interchange arrangement in tact for years to come. This design is also cited as one of the reasons for keeping I-465 speed limit at 55 MPH.

Also glaring, the new bridges of these ramps over the travel lanes of I-465, one over the westbound lanes and the other over the eastbound lanes did not leave any extra room for any potential expansion of I-465 to four lanes. There is only room for three travel lanes and one ramp lane from traffic entering the highway from the left side. This means that if the interstate would be expanded to four lanes the ramps would have to go or the bridge would have to be rebuilt again.

Symbolically though in my mind this completes several years worth of construction projects that have transformed the I-65 corridor from Exit 90 in Franklin north to Exit 106 at I-465. With the exception of the crappy pavement that remains in the left three lanes of I-65 between Exits 103 and 106 (because no one ever bothered to repave that stretch at all when adding a new auxiliary lane) the roadway is much improved to handle more traffic from the southern suburbs into Indy.

no one goes 55 on 465 anyway.  I call bs on INDOT for that.

[bmeiser]

Speaking of construction projects in the state, they finished a couple of weeks ago the building of two new bridges of I-65 over I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis. The bridges look nice and are extra wide to handle any additional new lanes they may add to I-65 in the future. It was good for once to see them get a little proactive with them.

However for any positive there must also be a negative. They redid all the remaining bridges in this interchange complex, including new bridges for the NB I-65 ramp to WB I-465 and the SB I-65 ramp to EB I-465. They kept the ramps exactly where they are so that traffic has to continue entering I-465 from the left side, keeping that interchange arrangement in tact for years to come. This design is also cited as one of the reasons for keeping I-465 speed limit at 55 MPH.

Also glaring, the new bridges of these ramps over the travel lanes of I-465, one over the westbound lanes and the other over the eastbound lanes did not leave any extra room for any potential expansion of I-465 to four lanes. There is only room for three travel lanes and one ramp lane from traffic entering the highway from the left side. This means that if the interstate would be expanded to four lanes the ramps would have to go or the bridge would have to be rebuilt again.

Symbolically though in my mind this completes several years worth of construction projects that have transformed the I-65 corridor from Exit 90 in Franklin north to Exit 106 at I-465. With the exception of the crappy pavement that remains in the left three lanes of I-65 between Exits 103 and 106 (because no one ever bothered to repave that stretch at all when adding a new auxiliary lane) the roadway is much improved to handle more traffic from the southern suburbs into Indy.

I too am disappointed and frustrated that they didn't get rid of those left entrances.  I'm not sure of the statistics on accidents in that area but those ramps certainly aren't safe.  I remember having to exit onto 465 via one of those ramps in drivers ed (actually it was one of the ones off of 31) and it was terrifying.  You can tell that many people have the same sentiment based on how slowly they enter from those ramps. I still prefer not to take them if at all possible but they're hard to avoid.   It's upsetting that INDOT chose to save money rather than lives.

[silverback1065]

Speaking of construction projects in the state, they finished a couple of weeks ago the building of two new bridges of I-65 over I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis. The bridges look nice and are extra wide to handle any additional new lanes they may add to I-65 in the future. It was good for once to see them get a little proactive with them.

However for any positive there must also be a negative. They redid all the remaining bridges in this interchange complex, including new bridges for the NB I-65 ramp to WB I-465 and the SB I-65 ramp to EB I-465. They kept the ramps exactly where they are so that traffic has to continue entering I-465 from the left side, keeping that interchange arrangement in tact for years to come. This design is also cited as one of the reasons for keeping I-465 speed limit at 55 MPH.

Also glaring, the new bridges of these ramps over the travel lanes of I-465, one over the westbound lanes and the other over the eastbound lanes did not leave any extra room for any potential expansion of I-465 to four lanes. There is only room for three travel lanes and one ramp lane from traffic entering the highway from the left side. This means that if the interstate would be expanded to four lanes the ramps would have to go or the bridge would have to be rebuilt again.

Symbolically though in my mind this completes several years worth of construction projects that have transformed the I-65 corridor from Exit 90 in Franklin north to Exit 106 at I-465. With the exception of the crappy pavement that remains in the left three lanes of I-65 between Exits 103 and 106 (because no one ever bothered to repave that stretch at all when adding a new auxiliary lane) the roadway is much improved to handle more traffic from the southern suburbs into Indy.

I too am disappointed and frustrated that they didn't get rid of those left entrances.  I'm not sure of the statistics on accidents in that area but those ramps certainly aren't safe.  I remember having to exit onto 465 via one of those ramps in drivers ed (actually it was one of the ones off of 31) and it was terrifying.  You can tell that many people have the same sentiment based on how slowly they enter from those ramps. I still prefer not to take them if at all possible but they're hard to avoid.   It's upsetting that INDOT chose to save money rather than lives.

they almost always tend to do that.

[silverback1065]

per indot:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Dec. 14, 2017) — Motorists traveling between Bloomington and Martinsville on SR 37 will notice changes to traffic patterns and access points beginning on Friday, Dec. 15. The lane shifts and new access will allow crews to get SR 37 ready for a winter configuration that will have four lanes of traffic moving both north and south bound in most of the corridor.
On Friday, northbound traffic on SR 37 between the Sample Road interchange and Crossover Road will be shifted onto the new I-69 northbound travel lanes.  Access on and off this stretch of the northbound roadway will be limited to East Sample/Wayport Road.  When northbound traffic moves to new I-69 pavement, the current SR 37 northbound lanes will become a bidirectional access road for homes and businesses east of SR 37.
Southbound motorists get to the new access road by turning left off of SR 37 at East Sample/Wayport; northbound motorists get to the new access road by turning right at East Sample/Wayport.  Motorists traveling north on Wayport Road can get to the new access road by using the East Sample roundabout. Because the new access road is bidirectional, motorists are urged to use caution and turn signals when entering and exiting the roadway.
Direct access to the Mobile/Circle K gas station from SR 37 will be eliminated.  Customers will need to go south on the East Sample/Wayport access road to reach the service station and Nature's Way.  Bloomington Auto Parts, Worm's Way, Inc., Oliver Winery, Fox Hollow Road, the Family Life Worship Center and Parker Pools can be accessed by traveling north on the new access road (old SR 37 northbound lanes) from East Sample/Wayport.   
U-turns at the northern and southern ends of the new northbound travel lanes will be located at Crossover Road and the East Sample/Wayport access road just north of the Sample Road overpass. Northbound motorists needing access to the west side of the highway will need to make a U-turn at Crossover Road and proceed southbound to Lee Paul Road.
In addition, on Monday, Dec. 18, southbound traffic entering the northern limits of the construction zone at Indian Creek will be placed on new I-69 pavement, separating it from northbound traffic that will remain on the current SR 37 northbound lanes.  Both north and south bound traffic will remain in single lanes, allowing crews to continue with patching, paving and maintenance operations as long as the weather permits.
INDOT reminds all motorists that work will continue at various points in the construction zone throughout the winter, and the posted speed limit remains 45 mph.  Motorists are urged to be aware of the new lane configurations and changes in traffic patterns, and to always drive safely and for the conditions.

[silverback1065]

unrelated, Indy is going to spend 2.7 million on Binford/FCPWY.  They're going to repave it, and modernize the signals.  I wish they'd just carmelize it and make it like keystone pkwy.

[NWI_Irish96]

unrelated, Indy is going to spend 2.7 million on Binford/FCPWY.  They're going to repave it, and modernize the signals.  I wish they'd just carmelize it and make it like keystone pkwy.

They'd have to buy up a lot of property to do that. 

[silverback1065]

has SR 111 been rerouted?  It used to just die at the ohio river in new boston, now google says it ends at SR 11 in Laconia (which would be a better route)

[csw]

I drove through Laconia on SR 11 a few months ago, there are no signs there indicating that SR 111 goes in or out of Laconia. I think Google maps is in error. I remember being confused as well when I checked it back then. How it looks on GSV is pretty much how it still looks now.