The I-65/70 North Split Reconstruction

[silverback1065]

so cool! i bet we won't see another movement open until much later in the year. looks like a lot of work to be done!

[ITB]

Here's the latest drone video, uploaded yesterday, August 2, 2022. Good progress is being made. The project seems to be on schedule, as crews typically are not working nights nor on Sundays, except in certain circumstances.

At the Ohio Street/railroad bridge site on the south leg, preparations are underway to construct the cap for the middle bent. After the cap pours complete, and bearings put in, the placement of beams will soon follow. That will involve major coordination with the railroad, as there will have to be a significant pause of all rail operations at the location. This is a large bridge, crossing both the railroad tracks and Ohio Street. It's completion, expected by the end of October, will be a major turning point for the project, as by then all the bridges of the south leg should be complete or nearly so.

Work also has resumed near the pilings for the bridges the will cross over College Ave. Of the six movements the project involves, perhaps the last to complete will be the shift of I-70 west to I-65 north onto new pavement and bridges, including the bridge over College Ave.

[tdindy88]

Crews don't work nights or Sunday? That helps explain the 18 months of hell that have been the construction of the North Split.

I don't think any construction project has ever been as disruptive to Indianapolis as this one has been. Necessary beyond all belief but I honestly wonder how long it really needed to take to do it. ITB, you may be a good authority on this one. Maybe it's really necessary to take that long of time, if it is then it is and I'm fine with that. But still, 465 on the south side is now a parking lot most of the day. Lots of people, including myself sitting in traffic over an interchange that we don't even go near.

And then, if I want to take 70 east to 65 south through the city (going from the west side to the south side) traffic is backed up because the engineers of this project want all through traffic to be forced on one lane approaching the South Split with two lanes heading off to Washington Street. Add the people taking the on-ramp from West Street onto I-70 east and there are backups every day.

18 long months. I'll be very happy when its over. It will be a very nice interchange and a lot of the conflicts that made traffic bad there will be eliminated. But still....18 months.

I apologize for the rant, you're reporting of construction projects on this forum have been excellent.

[silverback1065]

Crews don't work nights or Sunday? That helps explain the 18 months of hell that have been the construction of the North Split.

I don't think any construction project has ever been as disruptive to Indianapolis as this one has been. Necessary beyond all belief but I honestly wonder how long it really needed to take to do it. ITB, you may be a good authority on this one. Maybe it's really necessary to take that long of time, if it is then it is and I'm fine with that. But still, 465 on the south side is now a parking lot most of the day. Lots of people, including myself sitting in traffic over an interchange that we don't even go near.

And then, if I want to take 70 east to 65 south through the city (going from the west side to the south side) traffic is backed up because the engineers of this project want all through traffic to be forced on one lane approaching the South Split with two lanes heading off to Washington Street. Add the people taking the on-ramp from West Street onto I-70 east and there are backups every day.

18 long months. I'll be very happy when its over. It will be a very nice interchange and a lot of the conflicts that made traffic bad there will be eliminated. But still....18 months.

I apologize for the rant, you're reporting of construction projects on this forum have been excellent.

i believe night work isnt being done because of noise ordinances. so many people live in the area i bet the city just won't allow it. no sunday work? that is weird. 

[ITB]

Crews don't work nights or Sunday? That helps explain the 18 months of hell that have been the construction of the North Split.

I don't think any construction project has ever been as disruptive to Indianapolis as this one has been. Necessary beyond all belief but I honestly wonder how long it really needed to take to do it. ITB, you may be a good authority on this one. Maybe it's really necessary to take that long of time, if it is then it is and I'm fine with that. But still, 465 on the south side is now a parking lot most of the day. Lots of people, including myself sitting in traffic over an interchange that we don't even go near.

And then, if I want to take 70 east to 65 south through the city (going from the west side to the south side) traffic is backed up because the engineers of this project want all through traffic to be forced on one lane approaching the South Split with two lanes heading off to Washington Street. Add the people taking the on-ramp from West Street onto I-70 east and there are backups every day.

18 long months. I'll be very happy when its over. It will be a very nice interchange and a lot of the conflicts that made traffic bad there will be eliminated. But still....18 months.

I apologize for the rant, you're reporting of construction projects on this forum have been excellent.

i believe night work isnt being done because of noise ordinances. so many people live in the area i bet the city just won't allow it. no sunday work? that is weird.

I based my night and Sunday work statement on observations via INDOT traffic cams located in or near the construction zone. Whether some work is ongoing during those times, I truly don't know because the cameras don't cover every area. But, to me, it appears it isn't, at least on a regular basis. And, actually, that's a good thing, as it indicates the project seems to be on schedule.

As for how long the project may have taken if all movements were required to remain open, I'm not sure. But, I'd say, at least an additional year. There are 50 bridges in this project. 50! Bridge work takes time. Numerous bridges in the project have had to be knocked down, then built anew, one after the other. It's all very time consuming. Across the country, all sorts of things have been tried to speed up bridge work. In 2019, INDOT oversaw the construction of an I-70 bridge in Wayne County using an accelerated construction technique (link below).

This project still has considerable bridge work remaining. The next couple of months will be crucial. Right now, even though things seem to be going well, some people associated with the project are probably heading home nightly with cases of indigestion, worried about this or that.

To speculate, if INDOT and its contractors had decided to work 24/7 on the project, it's a good bet the project still would have taken 10 months to a year to complete. And, that's with a closure. On average, that would have meant a completed bridge every week. Moreover, there'd be the additional expense to contend with, which might have reached upwards of $100 million or so.

Indiana Accelerated Bridge Construction Case Study

Edit: grammar; readability

[ysuindy]

I'm a downtown Indy office worker.  The project was underway before I returned to working in the office from the pandemic.   

The daily commute in to downtown has not been horrific.  There are bad days, but there are enough options to getting downtown and enough options once you take any of the 3 exits off the interstate from the East side that it hasn't been bad.  Traffic is heavier now than it was and red line reconstruction has made a mess of Capital, but it is manageable.

The commute home has been miserable since the Pine Street ramp closed a few weeks ago.  Even when the Delaware Street ramp was closed, it was not as bad as it is now.  I guess it is because now all the traffic leaving downtown on 70 East must funnel in to two lanes to head through the north split.  When Delaware was closed but Pine was open, your merge was where there was four lanes well East of the North Split - now it is two lanes.

It has just backed up 11th and Delaware both to near gridlock until well after 6 p.m.   I keep hoping it will get better, but keep ending up heading to 16th street to Roosevelt to Hillsdale to Bloyd under 70 to get on 70 from Rural.  I should try something different tonight.   Maybe after the State Fair ends I can use Fall Creek to Binford - but I hate that commute so much.

Coming from Fishers, I know I will have a miserable Monday morning commute with the reconfiguration of lanes for 69 south to 465 combined with the Allisonville ramp closure - I need to prepare for an hour long commute Monday.  Counting my months until retirement......

[silverback1065]

I'm a downtown Indy office worker.  The project was underway before I returned to working in the office from the pandemic.   

The daily commute in to downtown has not been horrific.  There are bad days, but there are enough options to getting downtown and enough options once you take any of the 3 exits off the interstate from the East side that it hasn't been bad.  Traffic is heavier now than it was and red line reconstruction has made a mess of Capital, but it is manageable.

The commute home has been miserable since the Pine Street ramp closed a few weeks ago.  Even when the Delaware Street ramp was closed, it was not as bad as it is now.  I guess it is because now all the traffic leaving downtown on 70 East must funnel in to two lanes to head through the north split.  When Delaware was closed but Pine was open, your merge was where there was four lanes well East of the North Split - now it is two lanes.

It has just backed up 11th and Delaware both to near gridlock until well after 6 p.m.   I keep hoping it will get better, but keep ending up heading to 16th street to Roosevelt to Hillsdale to Bloyd under 70 to get on 70 from Rural.  I should try something different tonight.   Maybe after the State Fair ends I can use Fall Creek to Binford - but I hate that commute so much.

Coming from Fishers, I know I will have a miserable Monday morning commute with the reconfiguration of lanes for 69 south to 465 combined with the Allisonville ramp closure - I need to prepare for an hour long commute Monday.  Counting my months until retirement......

take the official detour home, NY to Rural and onto 70 E. that should work better.

[FixThe74Sign]

I would be shocked if this project finishes on time. We were told at the beginning of this project that the Pine St ramp to 70 East would stay open the whole project, and that obviously is not the case anymore with its closure. This tells me they are running out of time if they are going back on previous promises. Looking at those videos, I don't see how this will wrap up by November.

[silverback1065]

I wonder if the main movements get done and the exits linger on a bit afterwards? if they don't open it in time wouldn't it run into projects they have already announced on 465? that would be bad!

[ITB]

On Friday, August 5, 2022, Commissioner Mike Smith – INDOT's top executive – visited the North Split work zone. Undoubtedly, the visit sends a clear message underscoring the importance of the project to INDOT, the state, and the city of Indianapolis. A few pictures of the visit can be viewed here.

Smith was appointed INDOT Commissioner by Governor Eric Holcomb in February 2022. His bio can be accessed here.

[NWI_Irish96]

I drove through there yesterday. I'm not a construction expert but I don't see this being done by the end of November.

[silverback1065]

I drove through there yesterday. I'm not a construction expert but I don't see this being done by the end of November.

i feel the same!

[ITB]

I drove through there yesterday. I'm not a construction expert but I don't see this being done by the end of November.

i feel the same!

Tossing in my two cents, and I'm no construction expert, too, I feel somewhat confident in saying that all six movements will be open by the end of the year. I base this on my experience watching construction. Two drone videos of the project are now being uploaded weekly. When examined closely, almost daily progress can be perceived.

Good progress is being made on the South Leg. Paving crews are working north from the Washington Street work zone, as well as south from the North Split itself. The new Pine Street ramp to I-70E is scheduled to be open by the end of September, the 26th to be exact. That appears to be going as planned. There is solid progress, too, on the bridges over Ohio Street and the railroad. Those, as well as the bridges over New York Street, are planned to complete by the end of October. If that goes as scheduled, it will prime the South Leg I-65/I-70 movements to be opened to I-70E.

The progress of the ramps to and from I-65N is not as far along as those to I-70E. Among other work, these ramps require the construction of two new bridges over 10th Street. It was only last week that the old easternmost bridge over 10th Street was taken down. That was the bridge that carried the Pine Street ramp to I-70E. They should be able to complete these bridges by late October.

As each bridge completes, it will allow more crews to be repositioned at other sites. This will increase the pace of construction of the remaining bridges. Probably the last bridges to be completed will be the trio over College Avenue. Those might go up fast.

I'm optimistic they'll get it done.

Here's a few screen shots of recent work:


INDOT TrafficWise camera
On the South Leg, crews await the concrete mixers to pour the deck for a bridge over Michigan Street. Note the early time – 6:22am.


INDOT TrafficWise camera
Night work. Installing the beams for a bridge over Central Avenue.


INDOT TrafficWise camera
On the South Leg, getting ready to pave the section south of the Washington Street bridges.


INDOT TrafficWise camera
They started just after the Friday evening rush hour and finished up around 1:30 am.


INDOT TrafficWise camera
Waiting for the boss. Crew members typically arrive between 5:30 and 6:30am.


INDOT TrafficWise camera
The beginning of another day.


INDOT TrafficWise camera
Quiet night. For the most part, night work is only occurring in certain circumstances. That may change as we move into September and October.

[silverback1065]

i had a feeling all the work was just being done outside of driver's sight. i bet the mainline movements will open on time and the exits may lag into next year.

[jhuntin1]

i bet the mainline movements will open on time and the exits may lag into next year.

Take it for what it's worth, but I talked to an acquaintance of mine who works for INDOT last week and he said this is pretty much the plan right now.

[silverback1065]

i bet the mainline movements will open on time and the exits may lag into next year.

Take it for what it's worth, but I talked to an acquaintance of mine who works for INDOT last week and he said this is pretty much the plan right now.

Probably right. I only say this because that's how similar projects have worked out. take a look at i-69.

[silverback1065]

here is a video from yesterday. i think the mainline will get done on time at this rate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emb9ajj-Mgc

[ysuindy]

Just seems like there is a lot of work left for the through movements on 65 north and 70 west.  Maybe the new bridges go faster than I think.

[silverback1065]

Just seems like there is a lot of work left for the through movements on 65 north and 70 west.  Maybe the new bridges go faster than I think.

i think 70 will open before 65 does. i only say this because 65n work really is just getting started since new 65n is where the current pine st exit is that just closed.

[ysuindy]

Just seems like there is a lot of work left for the through movements on 65 north and 70 west.  Maybe the new bridges go faster than I think.

i think 70 will open before 65 does. i only say this because 65n work really is just getting started since new 65n is where the current pine st exit is that just closed.

Which movement will be bridged over the other?   I see several support beams sticking up for the last few months.   It is apparent both 70 west and 65 north will go under 70 east.  But one of them has to go over the other.  That bridge would seem to be last.   

65 south would go under 70 east as well.  And given that part of the purpose is the remove the need for weaving before the south split, either 70 west of 65 south has to go over the other.   That's the other bridge that seems be one of the last.

[silverback1065]

Just seems like there is a lot of work left for the through movements on 65 north and 70 west.  Maybe the new bridges go faster than I think.

i think 70 will open before 65 does. i only say this because 65n work really is just getting started since new 65n is where the current pine st exit is that just closed.

Which movement will be bridged over the other?   I see several support beams sticking up for the last few months.   It is apparent both 70 west and 65 north will go under 70 east.  But one of them has to go over the other.  That bridge would seem to be last.   

65 south would go under 70 east as well.  And given that part of the purpose is the remove the need for weaving before the south split, either 70 west of 65 south has to go over the other.   That's the other bridge that seems be one of the last.

I'm not sure honestly. I just know that from what was announced, and what you can see on their website drawings, the furthest east alignment has to be 65n mainline at least that is the only thing that makes sense to me when i look at it. it's really hard to tell what's going on though from the videos  so i could be wrong

[ITB]

To see the final configuration – what ramp carries what, etc. – check out this schematic. It's the best I've come across. The new bridges over Market Street are not indicated , so that aspect of the project appears to be a late add.

[ITB]

Here's another project map, an overhead schematic. Of interest, this map seems to show the reuse of the bridge over 10th Street that previously carried the Pine Street ramp to I-70E. Note the slightly darker shade of gray for that bridge. As some of you know, the Pine Street ramp to I-70E was originally slated to remain open during the duration of the project. However, the ramp was closed last month and the bridge over 10th Street demolished. It's possible – and, please, bear in mind I am not affiliated with the project in any way – that after the project was underway further examination of the bridge revealed it was in worse condition than initially believed. Thus, the decision to demolish and replace, rather than to rehabilitate. That necessitated the closure of the Pine Street ramp to I-70E. Of course, this is all just speculation on my part.

Edit: Removed some meaningless ramblings.

[silverback1065]

looks like all of the BGS along 11th street are going away for good. replaced by span wire assembles. good idea. 

[ITB]

"North Split project 'on track' ... "

In a TV news report broadcast August 22nd, INDOT spokesperson affirms the project is "on track." Watch or read the story here.