Indiana Notes

[silverback1065]

Today's Kokomo Tribune states that the city of Kokomo will take control of IN 22 all the way east to the new US 31.  This resolves the feud between the city and INDOT of the proposed INDOT installation of "tuff curbs" along Markland Ave / IN 22 on both sides of IN 931. The mayor states that they may remove some traffic signals on the street, a practice that has been successfull throughout the city the last few years.

Kokomo got screwed in that deal, only $4 million for 6 miles of state road?  Also what are tuff curbs?

[mukade]

But, I thought an even leading digit indicated a loop or returning child. This should have been 146, 346, 546, or whatever.

No such rule exists. For example, SR 201, SR 212, SR 213, SR 218, SR 225, SR 227, SR 237, SR 240, and many others never return to their parent. As a matter of fact, there is no guarantee they even touch their parent: SR 201, SR 213, SR 218, and SR 236.

Today's Kokomo Tribune states that the city of Kokomo will take control of IN 22 all the way east to the new US 31.  This resolves the feud between the city and INDOT of the proposed INDOT installation of "tuff curbs" along Markland Ave / IN 22 on both sides of IN 931. The mayor states that they may remove some traffic signals on the street, a practice that has been successfull throughout the city the last few years.

This is consistent with what INDOT is doing in other cities. I am not sure why Kokomo doesn't take SR 931 because the same principle applies there and the city has constant problems with the mowing of the median. If INDOT gives the city money to rebuild the road, i don't see a down side.

I think the rule is: The higher the first digit, the less of a priority the route is.

No such rule exists. SR 912 is almost all freeway in an urban area so is a major highway. SR 106, SR 115, SR 117, SR 128, SR 130, and SR 269 are examples of minor state roads.

Kokomo got screwed in that deal, only $4 million for 6 miles of state road?  Also what are tuff curbs?

Over half the road has been rebuilt in the last 15 years or so. They need to improve and widen Markland Avenue at SR 931, though.

[PurdueBill]

Aren't the 900 series IN routes a separate class though?

INDOT has been anal about 3-digit routes not changing directions midway, going so far as to have SR 126 and 526 end at each other just so that 126, which ran east-west, could be signed E-W, and 526, running north-south, could be signed N-S.  Together they really made up one route that started at US 231, crossed SR 26, and ended at Purdue Airport.  But two numbers to avoid an N-S route running for a mile east-west.

[mukade]

Aren't the 900 series IN routes a separate class though?

INDOT has been anal about 3-digit routes not changing directions midway, going so far as to have SR 126 and 526 end at each other just so that 126, which ran east-west, could be signed E-W, and 526, running north-south, could be signed N-S.  Together they really made up one route that started at US 231, crossed SR 26, and ended at Purdue Airport.  But two numbers to avoid an N-S route running for a mile east-west.

The 900 series were all in major urban areas, and SR 930, 931, and 933 are apparently ones INDOT wants to turn back to local agencies. I wouldn't call Kokomo a major urban area, however. But SR 912 is not really in the category of a local road that should be turned back.

As for routes changing directions midway through, SR 162 changes direction twice making a backward "C" shape. I think others change direction as well - SR 235, for example. While SR 126 and 526 are two routes that don't make an "L shape, back in the 1970s SR 146 and SR 346 near IU did.

[mukade]

Aren't the 900 series IN routes a separate class though?

INDOT has been anal about 3-digit routes not changing directions midway, going so far as to have SR 126 and 526 end at each other just so that 126, which ran east-west, could be signed E-W, and 526, running north-south, could be signed N-S.  Together they really made up one route that started at US 231, crossed SR 26, and ended at Purdue Airport.  But two numbers to avoid an N-S route running for a mile east-west.

Actually, in looking at older maps, it looks like SR 526 originally only went south from SR 26 to the airport (as late as 1962). So when it was extended north, it was probably easier to do what they did rather than renumbering one or the other.

[PurdueBill]

Aren't the 900 series IN routes a separate class though?

INDOT has been anal about 3-digit routes not changing directions midway, going so far as to have SR 126 and 526 end at each other just so that 126, which ran east-west, could be signed E-W, and 526, running north-south, could be signed N-S.  Together they really made up one route that started at US 231, crossed SR 26, and ended at Purdue Airport.  But two numbers to avoid an N-S route running for a mile east-west.

Actually, in looking at older maps, it looks like SR 526 originally only went south from SR 26 to the airport (as late as 1962). So when it was extended north, it was probably easier to do what they did rather than renumbering one or the other.

Interesting--the 1964 topo shows 526 and 126, with 526 indeed only south of 26 to the airport in the 1952 topo.  Did the extension of 526 and the addition of 126 happen separately? Why would they have numbered 126 if it didn't meet 26 or 526?  INDOT is a mystery... 

126/526 was a weirdo especially because of the slightly acute angle where they met; after heading west on 126, if you turned onto 526 you were heading south-southeast but eventually meet 26 where you can continue west.  With 26 "ending" just west of the former 26/526 junction at 52/231 now, 526 would be orphaned and away it went.  God, I hate all these silly decommissionings, especially for thru routes like 25 and 26 that just end and pick up again with no sign for people actually trying to follow the routes as to how to find the continuation.

[mukade]

Actually, in looking at older maps, it looks like SR 526 originally only went south from SR 26 to the airport (as late as 1962). So when it was extended north, it was probably easier to do what they did rather than renumbering one or the other.

Interesting--the 1964 topo shows 526 and 126, with 526 indeed only south of 26 to the airport in the 1952 topo.  Did the extension of 526 and the addition of 126 happen separately? Why would they have numbered 126 if it didn't meet 26 or 526?  INDOT is a mystery... 

126/526 was a weirdo especially because of the slightly acute angle where they met; after heading west on 126, if you turned onto 526 you were heading south-southeast but eventually meet 26 where you can continue west.  With 26 "ending" just west of the former 26/526 junction at 52/231 now, 526 would be orphaned and away it went.  God, I hate all these silly decommissionings, especially for thru routes like 25 and 26 that just end and pick up again with no sign for people actually trying to follow the routes as to how to find the continuation.

It is not too uncommon that three digit state roads do not ever meet their parents. I listed some in another post, but there are actually several more. Some used to meet their parent and some never have. The perpendicular child routes (like SR 526) are much less common than the parallel ones (like SR 126).

[trafficsignal]

Kokomo got screwed in that deal, only $4 million for 6 miles of state road?  Also what are tuff curbs?

Tuff curbs:

https://maps.google.com/?ll=40.042641,-86.13674&spn=0.000002,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=40.042641,-86.13674&panoid=3xpj5nLTAh-ew5mFCdDuWQ&cbp=12,67.66,,0,1.1

[andy]

Kokomo got screwed in that deal, only $4 million for 6 miles of state road?  Also what are tuff curbs?

Tuff curbs:

https://maps.google.com/?ll=40.042641,-86.13674&spn=0.000002,0.001206&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=40.042641,-86.13674&panoid=3xpj5nLTAh-ew5mFCdDuWQ&cbp=12,67.66,,0,1.1

Makes me wonder if the word was originally "tuft" instead of "tuff"

Edit: actually, a google search for tuft curb verifies this.

[thefro]

A report by a Blue Ribbon Panel commissioned by Governor Pence makes recommendations about future transportation priorities in Indiana

Firstly, the report lists as the highest-priority to finish existing projects:
1) Ohio River Bridges Project
2) I-69 Extension from Evansville to Indianapolis
3) lliana Expressway
4) US 31 from Indianapolis to South Bend

For future road projects, there are 3 tiers

Tier 1 Projects:
1) Upgrade I-65 to 6-Lanes statewide
2) Upgrade I-70 to 6-Lanes statewide
3) I-69 Ohio River Bridge
4) Indiana Commerce Connector

Tier 2 Projects:
1) I-69 added travel lanes between Hamilton County and Muncie
2) SW Indiana Port Connections - Freeway upgrade of SR 62 from Mount Vernon to future I-69 (currently signed I-164)
3) Mid-States Corridor (I-67 upgrade of US 231 and connector to I-69 near Petersburg)
4) Freeway upgrade of US 30 Fort Wayne to Valparaiso

Tier 3 Projects:
1) Port of Indiana bridge over National Rail Corridor
2) Upgrade of SR 256 to 4-lanes to connect Madison to I-65 (seems really dumb to me when they could upgrade SR 56 instead)
3) Upgrade of SR1 to 4-lane expressway from Connersville to I-70

There are also recommendations to index the gas tax to inflation, move to a user fee model to fund transportation costs, and to designate a 1-mile section of I-65 as the "I-Way" to pilot future technologies (basically sounds like the Solar Roadway idea).

[trafficsignal]

I saw this in a blurb a couple weeks ago and forgot until this recent gas tax discussion, but among the new laws that went into effect July 1 was a change in the gas tax:

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (June 30, 2014) — A host of new laws are taking effect on July 1 and rising prices at the pump will likely be the most immediate impact felt by Hoosiers.

Instead of the current 19-cent-per-gallon sales tax, Indiana is moving Tuesday to a rolling use tax.  The new gas use tax will be 7 percent of the average price of gasoline in the state during the previous month.

The Department of Revenue has released that July's gas tax will be $0.229 per gallon, calculated off of an average price of $3.269

Read more: http://fox59.com/2014/06/30/gas-tax-change-pumps-up-prices-as-several-new-state-laws-take-effect/#ixzz374pbgmhM

I remember hearing nothing about this leading up to July 1st, it seemingly appeared out of nowhere but was in effect a fairly significant bump in the gas tax - average price would need to be lower than $2.71 to get less tax than the old $0.19 tax.

[billtm]

A report by a Blue Ribbon Panel commissioned by Governor Pence makes recommendations about future transportation priorities in Indiana

Firstly, the report lists as the highest-priority to finish existing projects:
1) Ohio River Bridges Project
2) I-69 Extension from Evansville to Indianapolis
3) lliana Expressway
4) US 31 from Indianapolis to South Bend

For future road projects, there are 3 tiers

Tier 1 Projects:
1) Upgrade I-65 to 6-Lanes statewide
2) Upgrade I-70 to 6-Lanes statewide
3) I-69 Ohio River Bridge
4) Indiana Commerce Connector

Tier 2 Projects:
1) I-69 added travel lanes between Hamilton County and Muncie
2) SW Indiana Port Connections - Freeway upgrade of SR 62 from Mount Vernon to future I-69 (currently signed I-164)
3) Mid-States Corridor (I-67 upgrade of US 231 and connector to I-69 near Petersburg)
4) Freeway upgrade of US 30 Fort Wayne to Valparaiso

Tier 3 Projects:
1) Port of Indiana bridge over National Rail Corridor
2) Upgrade of SR 256 to 4-lanes to connect Madison to I-65 (seems really dumb to me when they could upgrade SR 56 instead)
3) Upgrade of SR1 to 4-lane expressway from Connersville to I-70

There are also recommendations to index the gas tax to inflation, move to a user fee model to fund transportation costs, and to designate a 1-mile section of I-65 as the "I-Way" to pilot future technologies (basically sounds like the Solar Roadway idea).

I'm surprised a US-24 connector from Roanoke to I-469 wasn't mentioned/proposed on the document. All of the projects that were mentioned look great!

[hbelkins]

3) Mid-States Corridor (I-67 upgrade of US 231 and connector to I-69 near Petersburg)

Don't tell Owensboro's mayor.

[NWI_Irish96]

If I were to prioritize the future projects:

1) Upgrade I-65 to 6-Lanes statewide
2) Upgrade I-70 to 6-Lanes statewide
3) I-69 Ohio River Bridge
4) I-69 added travel lanes between Hamilton County and Muncie
5) SW Indiana Port Connections - Freeway upgrade of SR 62 from Mount Vernon to future I-69 (currently signed I-164)
6) Freeway upgrade of US 30 Fort Wayne to Valparaiso
7) Mid-States Corridor (I-67 upgrade of US 231 and connector to I-69 near Petersburg)
8) Upgrade of SR 256 to 4-lanes to connect Madison to I-65 (seems really dumb to me when they could upgrade SR 56 instead)
9) Indiana Commerce Connector
10) Upgrade of SR1 to 4-lane expressway from Connersville to I-70
11) Port of Indiana bridge over National Rail Corridor

As to #8, if you are traveling from Indy to Madison, SR 256 is a shorter route than SR 56, so that's why SR 256.

As somebody who drives I-65 from Jeffersonville to Indy frequently and from Indy to Chicago occasionally, #1 can't happen fast enough.

One thing not on the list I would add is upgrading the rest of US 31 from SB to Indy that isn't currently under construction, or is that lumped in with the "existing project"?

[silverback1065]

If I were to prioritize the future projects:

1) Upgrade I-65 to 6-Lanes statewide
2) Upgrade I-70 to 6-Lanes statewide
3) I-69 Ohio River Bridge
4) I-69 added travel lanes between Hamilton County and Muncie
5) SW Indiana Port Connections - Freeway upgrade of SR 62 from Mount Vernon to future I-69 (currently signed I-164)
6) Freeway upgrade of US 30 Fort Wayne to Valparaiso
7) Mid-States Corridor (I-67 upgrade of US 231 and connector to I-69 near Petersburg)
8) Upgrade of SR 256 to 4-lanes to connect Madison to I-65 (seems really dumb to me when they could upgrade SR 56 instead)
9) Indiana Commerce Connector
10) Upgrade of SR1 to 4-lane expressway from Connersville to I-70
11) Port of Indiana bridge over National Rail Corridor

As to #8, if you are traveling from Indy to Madison, SR 256 is a shorter route than SR 56, so that's why SR 256.

As somebody who drives I-65 from Jeffersonville to Indy frequently and from Indy to Chicago occasionally, #1 can't happen fast enough.

One thing not on the list I would add is upgrading the rest of US 31 from SB to Indy that isn't currently under construction, or is that lumped in with the "existing project"?

I think they are all good except the commerce connector and 67.  They need to upgrade 65 and 70 really bad!  I used US 41/52 going back to indy from chicago just to see if it was better, and honestly, if you can get over the lights in hammond and lafayette, its actually better, not sure if its actually faster, but at least I don't have to deal with a billion semis backing up traffic trying to pass each other! 

[mukade]

I would expect that widening SR 46 east of Columbus toward Nashville  might make a list sooner or later. I am surprised the expensive I-465/I-69 NE Indy interchange rebuild is not listed in there.

As for US 31, I also hope that item entitled "4) US 31 from Indianapolis to South Bend" covers the sections not built or currently under construction.

[billtm]

I would expect that widening SR 46 east of Columbus toward Nashville  might make a list sooner or later. I am surprised the expensive I-465/I-69 NE Indy interchange rebuild is not listed in there.

As for US 31, I also hope that item entitled "4) US 31 from Indianapolis to South Bend" covers the sections not built or currently under construction.

The I-465/I-69 NE Indy interchange rebuild was mentioned in the document.

[Revive 755]

A report by a Blue Ribbon Panel commissioned by Governor Pence makes recommendations about future transportation priorities in Indiana

My comments:

* I don't care for some of the ideas in the Chart on Page 14 such as adding HOV and truck only lanes, or allowing longer truck trailers.

* First I've heard of any consideration of upgrading US 36 to a freeway from I-465 (west side) to Avon (Page 64) - although the text on Page 113 only indicates upgrading to expressway standards.

* Given the proposed upgrading of IN 62 to a freeway from I-164 to Mount Vernon, and the slow upgrading of US 45 from IL 13 to the IL 141/IN 62 corridor, might be worth just planning on connecting the two corridors.

* Have to wonder a little about not at least reserving a corridor for the northern half of the Commerce Connecting, especially with the US 31 freeway upgrades - there won't be any long distance trips that use the US 31 corridor and some other corridor like there supposedly will be for I-69?

* The western terminus of the US 30 upgrades is lacking.  Consideration should be given to either restarting the fight to bring the Illiana east of I-65 to tie into US 30, or the freeway upgrades on IN 49 need to be finished between Valparaiso and the Toll Road.

[billtm]

Wabash Pass Memorial Toll Bridge now toll free:

https://wabashpass.com/

Effective July 1, 2014, the State of Indiana will discontinue tolls on the Wabash Bridge in Posey County, Ind. Motorists will no longer need to have a vehicle transponder or Wabash Pass account to use the bridge.

INDOT considered many factors in its evaluation, such as the volume of traffic, and the cost to maintain and operate the bridge versus the cost to continue tolling. INDOT believes this is the right decision regarding this particular bridge.

Motorists who have a Wabash Pass account with a positive account balance after July 1 will receive full refunds.

INDOT will continue collection efforts for those who are now in collection or who owe tolls accrued prior to July 1. Bridge users who have an outstanding negative toll balance have until July 31 to pay accrued charges. Unpaid balances will be turned over to a collection agency after that date.

Account holders can verify account balances, pay accrued charges, and confirm their mailing address for refunds by logging into their Wabash Pass accounts or calling (toll free) 1-855-Wabash1 (1-855-922-2741).

Since 1956, the Wabash Bridge has been a vital link for motorists traveling between White County, Ill., and Posey County, Ind. Our goal is to maintain this bridge as a key link for area residents who work, shop or travel in west central Illinois or southwestern Indiana.

[tdindy88]

Well, we'll get another toll bridge in that part of the state soon enough, but with New Harmony's crossing closed I'm sure this is welcomed news for those in Posey County.

As for the panel's recommendations: Finish I-69 including the bridge, finish US 31 Indy to South Bend and widen I-65 and I-70 AND all of I-465 that isn't eight lanes yet. Those would be my priorities.

[J N Winkler]

Short note, largely of a technical nature:  Indiana DOT has changed the ViewDocs platform that it uses to distribute plans, contract information books, question-and-answer sheets, permits, geotechnical reports, etc. for its construction projects.

The new interface, which gives access to projects of the June 20, 2014 and later lettings, is available here:

https://netservices.indot.in.gov/ViewDocs11g/

The old interface, which (for now, at least) is necessary to access older projects, has been moved here:

http://pscsapp.indot.in.gov/Viewdocs2.0/

The new interface loads a listing of all the documents available for a given contract in response to a search on its number.  This is an improvement over the old one, which required you to choose document type and showed you only 20 items per page for a given type.  It also makes batch-downloading easier to code since postdata has to be confected at only two points (to search by contract and to download a document), as opposed to three (to search by contract, to choose a document type, and to retrieve multiple pages of listings when more than 20 of a given type of document are available).  However, the new interface doesn't expose links to individual documents (in other words, you must retrieve them using the HTTP POST method, not the GET method), so it is no more friendly to spidering than the old one was.

[US 41]

* First I've heard of any consideration of upgrading US 36 to a freeway from I-465 (west side) to Avon (Page 64) - although the text on Page 113 only indicates upgrading to expressway standards.

* The western terminus of the US 30 upgrades is lacking.  Consideration should be given to either restarting the fight to bring the Illiana east of I-65 to tie into US 30, or the freeway upgrades on IN 49 need to be finished between Valparaiso and the Toll Road.

US 36 would be hard to upgrade. It's too built up. Extending the Illiana would be a good idea, but the locals don't want it.

[pianocello]

Extending the Illiana would be a good idea, but the locals don't want it.

Agreed. It would be easier to simply eliminate the 3 intersections left on SR 49 between Valparaiso and the Toll Road.

[silverback1065]

* First I've heard of any consideration of upgrading US 36 to a freeway from I-465 (west side) to Avon (Page 64) - although the text on Page 113 only indicates upgrading to expressway standards.

* The western terminus of the US 30 upgrades is lacking.  Consideration should be given to either restarting the fight to bring the Illiana east of I-65 to tie into US 30, or the freeway upgrades on IN 49 need to be finished between Valparaiso and the Toll Road.

US 36 would be hard to upgrade. It's too built up. Extending the Illiana would be a good idea, but the locals don't want it.

why do they want to upgrade us 36? there's nothing wrong with it, use 100S/100N if it's so bad (i wish they would rename those streets)

[Indyroads]

Does anyone have a list of recently decommissioned state roads in Indiana. I have just noticed that they have removed the SR-32 shields from the BGS overhead signs along I-65 which signals that SR-32 may have been decommissioned in that area but have not found any news reports about that.

Also i think that following in the footsteps of Florida these decommissioned routes should retain their numbers as County Highways instead of State Highways as mentioned earlier in this thread.