Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

Started by mukade, June 25, 2011, 08:55:31 AM

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SkyPesos

Will the triple concurrent section (specifically at the interchange with I-65) have control cities for both I-74 and I-69, so Cincinnati/Ft Wayne for EB/NB, and Peoria/Evansville for WB/SB?

Also imo, Champaign is a better control city than Peoria for I-74 WB in Indiana, but oh well. Junction with 2 other interstates, and a well-known college town.


silverback1065

Quote from: SkyPesos on December 01, 2021, 11:16:18 AM
Will the triple concurrent section (specifically at the interchange with I-65) have control cities for both I-74 and I-69, so Cincinnati/Ft Wayne for EB/NB, and Peoria/Evansville for WB/SB?

Also imo, Champaign is a better control city than Peoria for I-74 WB in Indiana, but oh well. Junction with 2 other interstates, and a well-known college town.
peoria is way bigger and has more people.

ilpt4u

Quote from: SkyPesos on December 01, 2021, 11:16:18 AM
Will the triple concurrent section (specifically at the interchange with I-65) have control cities for both I-74 and I-69, so Cincinnati/Ft Wayne for EB/NB, and Peoria/Evansville for WB/SB?

Also imo, Champaign is a better control city than Peoria for I-74 WB in Indiana, but oh well. Junction with 2 other interstates, and a well-known college town.
Peoria is a more important industrial town, since Caterpillar. Sure, CAT has moved its corporate offices to Chicago and downsized their industrial opps in Peoria, but it is still there

Peoria is the better Control out of Indy. If you want something different, then use Des Moines

vtk

Quote from: ilpt4u on December 01, 2021, 12:05:42 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on December 01, 2021, 11:16:18 AM
Will the triple concurrent section (specifically at the interchange with I-65) have control cities for both I-74 and I-69, so Cincinnati/Ft Wayne for EB/NB, and Peoria/Evansville for WB/SB?

Also imo, Champaign is a better control city than Peoria for I-74 WB in Indiana, but oh well. Junction with 2 other interstates, and a well-known college town.
Peoria is a more important industrial town, since Caterpillar. Sure, CAT has moved its corporate offices to Chicago and downsized their industrial opps in Peoria, but it is still there

Peoria is the better Control out of Indy. If you want something different, then use Des Moines

Or Quad Cities
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

ilpt4u

#4079
Quote from: vtk on December 01, 2021, 04:38:35 PM
Quote from: ilpt4u on December 01, 2021, 12:05:42 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on December 01, 2021, 11:16:18 AM
Will the triple concurrent section (specifically at the interchange with I-65) have control cities for both I-74 and I-69, so Cincinnati/Ft Wayne for EB/NB, and Peoria/Evansville for WB/SB?

Also imo, Champaign is a better control city than Peoria for I-74 WB in Indiana, but oh well. Junction with 2 other interstates, and a well-known college town.
Peoria is a more important industrial town, since Caterpillar. Sure, CAT has moved its corporate offices to Chicago and downsized their industrial opps in Peoria, but it is still there

Peoria is the better Control out of Indy. If you want something different, then use Des Moines

Or Quad Cities
I thought about that. But neither Iowa nor Illinois use the overall "Quad Cities"  - Iowa uses Davenport/Bettendorf and Illinois uses Moline/Rock Island. I'm not sure which/how many of the 4 Indiana would even attempt - hence why I went with Des Moines if Peoria isn't "Good Enough"  for Control status. But since InDOT is using Fort Wayne for I-69N, and probably either Bloomington and/or Evansville soon for I-69S along I-465, Peoria checks out for I-74W

edwaleni

Quote from: ilpt4u on November 28, 2021, 08:29:59 PM
I drove down Harding St/SR 37 from I-70 today, down to the closure, then thru Martinsville, then back onto 37/69 down to Evansville

I didn't realize that pretty much the whole thing is under construction at this point, between Martinsville and I-465! InDOT wants to get this thing done!

ITB pictures have really spoiled me. Perhaps Walsh Construction or INDOT will put up a 24x7 webcams at Epler, Southport and Bluff so we can get a view without putting ITB on the spot.

mukade

#4081
INDOT does post some photos and videos on the I-69 Finish Line web site.

During the construction of the stretch between Crane and Bloomington (section 4?), one of the primary contractors posted drone footage. I found the link to one of the videos here.

Anyway, that would be really cool if someone could again post drone video.

ITB

#4082
Quote from: mukade on December 01, 2021, 09:19:04 PM
INDOT does post some photos and videos on the I-69 Finish Line web site.

During the construction of the stretch between Crane and Bloomington (section 4?), one of the primary contractors posted drone footage. I found the link to one of the videos here.

Anyway, that would be really cool if someone could again post drone video.

Yes, drone video would be terrific. Operating a drone south of Marion County, in either Johnson or Morgan counties, should be fine. However, any flying in the vicinity of the I-465/SR 37 interchange and nearby points southwest may be problematic due to the proximity of IND. Drone operators who wish to fly within five miles of an airport are required to fill out a FAA UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) activity form and contact local Air Traffic Control.

Update: Apparently, drone operators are no longer required to independently contact local air traffic control when flying within five miles of an airport, and instead can use the automated LAANC system to request authorization to fly in controlled airspace near airports. And, yes, the I-465/SR 37 interchange and points west and southwest are indeed within the controlled airspace zone of IND.

A live construction cam at the I-465/I-69 interchange work zone would be a nice perk, too.



mukade

From Southport Rd south looks to be OK unless the empty airport-owned land where the future runway will be built counts. Even for that, it looks like the 5 mile radius for the closest point is about a quarter mile south if Google Maps distance measurement is right.


ITB


Even though I may have posted this photo before, here it is again – a pre-construction aerial shot, probably taken with a drone, of the State Road 37/Southport Road intersection, looking southwest:


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.


silverback1065

Quote from: mukade on December 02, 2021, 07:25:33 AM
From Southport Rd south looks to be OK unless the empty airport-owned land where the future runway will be built counts. Even for that, it looks like the 5 mile radius for the closest point is about a quarter mile south if Google Maps distance measurement is right.

future runway? where?

ilpt4u

Quote from: silverback1065 on December 02, 2021, 01:52:44 PM
Quote from: mukade on December 02, 2021, 07:25:33 AM
From Southport Rd south looks to be OK unless the empty airport-owned land where the future runway will be built counts. Even for that, it looks like the 5 mile radius for the closest point is about a quarter mile south if Google Maps distance measurement is right.
future runway? where?
Look at Google Sat view. There is a strip of undeveloped land, about the size of a runway, on the south side of I-70 from the current airport southernmost runway

If/when developed, there will be at least one taxiway aircraft overpass built over I-70

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Decatur+Township,+IN/@39.6999843,-86.2960295,13z/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x886ca756bb94faa7:0x5e5731a06739c1af

westerninterloper

Quote from: ilpt4u on December 01, 2021, 08:19:48 PM
Quote from: vtk on December 01, 2021, 04:38:35 PM
Quote from: ilpt4u on December 01, 2021, 12:05:42 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on December 01, 2021, 11:16:18 AM
Will the triple concurrent section (specifically at the interchange with I-65) have control cities for both I-74 and I-69, so Cincinnati/Ft Wayne for EB/NB, and Peoria/Evansville for WB/SB?

Also imo, Champaign is a better control city than Peoria for I-74 WB in Indiana, but oh well. Junction with 2 other interstates, and a well-known college town.
Peoria is a more important industrial town, since Caterpillar. Sure, CAT has moved its corporate offices to Chicago and downsized their industrial opps in Peoria, but it is still there

Peoria is the better Control out of Indy. If you want something different, then use Des Moines

Or Quad Cities
I thought about that. But neither Iowa nor Illinois use the overall "Quad Cities"  - Iowa uses Davenport/Bettendorf and Illinois uses Moline/Rock Island. I'm not sure which/how many of the 4 Indiana would even attempt - hence why I went with Des Moines if Peoria isn't "Good Enough"  for Control status. But since InDOT is using Fort Wayne for I-69N, and probably either Bloomington and/or Evansville soon for I-69S along I-465, Peoria checks out for I-74W

Seems very unlikely Bloomington will be used as a control city in Marion County, if at all. Indiana doesn't use intermediate control cities, except in a very few places (the I-70 West exit from 465 South near the old airport terminal used to list Terre Haute, but no replaced by Indpls Int'l Airport). If Bloomington were to be a control city, then so should Terre Haute, Lafayette, Kokomo, Anderson, Richmond, and maybe Columbus Ind.
Nostalgia: Indiana's State Religion

ITB


Before putting up more photos from Marion County, here's a brief photo update of the progress in Martinsville.

Photos were taken Thursday, December 2, 2021, unless otherwise noted.


Looking north from the Grand Valley Blvd. overpass in Martinsville. The paving of the lanes appears to be nearly complete where the surcharge had been placed. It's impossible to determine from this perspective how far along the ramps or the two interchange roundabouts might be, but, overall, it appears good progress is being made.


Placing a form for a concrete pour; looking south from the State Road 44 in Martinsville.


Looking north from the State Road 44 overpass. On the left a form has been placed for a concrete pour. Why this strip of roadway will be paved using a form, and not slipformed, I have no idea. To the north, from this point to the temporary closure at Morgan Street, prep work to pave the unpaved southbound section continues. It seems the concrete median barrier wall will be extended, as well, in the area where the slipform paver is located. In the foreground, the area where the unpaved section of roadway widens appears to be where the grassy median will come to an end.


Another perspective looking northeast from near the State Road 44 overpass. Measuring to make sure everything is as it needs to be.


View looking northeast from near the Grand Valley Blvd. overpass.


Sightly closer view looking north from the Grand Valley Blvd. overpass.

Substantial completion of the Martinsville segment is rapidly approaching. From the bridges over Indian Creek to the temporary northern closure point at Morgan Street, the northbound lanes are now completely paved, aside from the bridge approach slabs at the SR 252 interchange, and, perhaps, the Ohio Street interchange. North of the SR 44 bridge, two lane strips remain to be paved on the southbound lanes. Also, there's a small unpaved section of left shoulder south of that overpass that needs to be concreted. In short, it's about done. Colder weather is expected early next week in central Indiana, with perhaps a little snow or mix mid-week. But after that minor event passes, temperatures in the upper 40s are forecast to return.

ITB


Few more recent pictures of the construction in Martinsville. Photos were taken Saturday, December 4, 2021, unless otherwise noted.


Looking south from the State Road 44 overpass in Martinsville. As it was only 5:10pm, work was still ongoing in several areas. The sun now sets at 5:19pm in central Indiana and will do so for the next few days before slowly starting to set later, even though the amount of daylight each day will continue to shorten until the winter solstice on the 21st.


Looking north from near the State Road 37/Morgan Street intersection just north of Martinsville toward the overpass that will carry Teeters Road.


At the Ohio Street interchange, another layer of asphalt was being put down on the northbound entrance ramp. In the foreground is the northbound exit ramp.


Looking north from the State Road 44. As expected, the median barrier wall was extended south. It's possible it may be extended further.


The view looking south from near the SR 37/Morgan Street intersection. With the slipform paver and related equipment in position, paving of the final strips of roadway should get underway sometime this week. As for the sign, it reads: RIGHT LANE ENDS 1/2 MILE.


Closer look looking south from the SR 44 overpass.


Slightly different perspective.


Another of the paving work at the Ohio Street interchange; looking north. In the deep background is the SR 44 overpass.


Long range view looking south from the SR 44 overpass.

Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Ryctor2018

I-69 Finish line stated the NB lanes of SR-37 opened on Friday, 12/3. One lane only.

https://twitter.com/I69FinishLine/status/1466470475773714436/photo/1

I'm curious if the Henderson Ford interchange opened as well. I read that it was supposed to. But, the twitter link did not specify.
2DI's traveled: 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 35, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 49, 55, 57, 59, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 85, 87, 88, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96

ITB

Quote from: Ryctor2018 on December 05, 2021, 10:48:23 PM

I'm curious if the Henderson Ford interchange opened as well. I read that it was supposed to. But, the twitter link did not specify.

With the shift of northbound traffic to the new northbound lanes, both the northbound exit and entrance ramps at Henderson Ford were opened. As the southbound exit ramp was opened earlier, in November if memory serves, the only ramp currently not available is the southbound entrance. Work to pave that ramp and connect to the southbound lanes should complete either this week or early next.

Last week's I-69 Finish Line newsletter mentioned the upcoming change:

"Shortly after S.R. 37 traffic is shifted, the new I-69 Henderson Ford Road interchange will open fully in both directions. Drivers on both S.R. 37 and Henderson Ford Road should stay alert as traffic adjusts to the new entrance and exit ramps."




ITB

#4093
Let's get to the Marion County pictures before they get stale. Photos were taken Sunday, November 28, 2021, unless otherwise noted.


Courtesy I-69 Finish Line.
In Marion County, an aerial view of the State Road 37/Wicker Road intersection and the bridges over Pleasant Run Creek; looking northeast. Estimated photo date: October 2020.


Street level view of the SR 37/Wicker intersection; looking northeast.


Southbound mainline bridges over Pleasant Run Creek and Wicker Road (back, left); looking north. The span over Pleasant Run recently received its deck pour.


Slightly longer range perspective. The smokestacks of the Indianapolis Power and Light Harding Generation Station are in the background.


The bridge that will carry the southbound mainline over Wicker Road; looking northeast.


Another perspective of the bridge over Wicker; looking northwest. Snapped this one off while waiting at the light. Not a good picture by any means, but it depicts how high above the ground the mainline will be elevated in this vicinity. Looks to be around 15 feet. Since I can only guess why the mainline will be raised in this area, and I assume, to points further north in Marion County as well as further south, I have reached out to the WMDBT for a design/engineering rationale.


The southbound mainline bridge over Pleasant Run Creek; looking north. As the bridge has just received its deck pour, I assume the plastic sheeting attached to the side is to offer some protection against cold winds freezing the deck pans underneath. If anyone knows otherwise, please chime in.


But the effort, apparently, didn't go exactly as planned; looking south.


Southbound bridge carrying State Road 37 over Pleasant Run Creek; looking southeast.


SR 37 bridges over Pleasant Run Creek; looking east. Piers look to be in pretty good shape.


Another look at the southbound bridge over Pleasant Run Creek; looking north.


Mid-range view of the bridges over Pleasant Run Creek and Wicker Road; looking north. In the foreground is the path of the southbound exit ramp which will intersect with the County Line Road interchange's western roundabout.


Another perspective looking northeast toward the two bridges.


And, finally, a Link-Belt TCC-1200 crane near the bridge over Wicker; looking north.

That's all for now. I'll put up a few more photos later in the week.

Edit: grammar and minor wording changes for accuracy and readability

CoolAngrybirdsrio4

Here's the new Interstate 69 pavement in Morgan County.



Photo Credit to I-69 Finish Line.
Renewed roadgeek

CoolAngrybirdsrio4

In addition to the photos of the finished pavement, the Martinsville portion of Interstate 69 is announced to open next month.

https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/i-69-closure-in-martinsville-on-track-to-open-january.php
Renewed roadgeek

mrsman

Quote from: westerninterloper on December 03, 2021, 02:11:44 PM
Quote from: ilpt4u on December 01, 2021, 08:19:48 PM
Quote from: vtk on December 01, 2021, 04:38:35 PM
Quote from: ilpt4u on December 01, 2021, 12:05:42 PM
Quote from: SkyPesos on December 01, 2021, 11:16:18 AM
Will the triple concurrent section (specifically at the interchange with I-65) have control cities for both I-74 and I-69, so Cincinnati/Ft Wayne for EB/NB, and Peoria/Evansville for WB/SB?

Also imo, Champaign is a better control city than Peoria for I-74 WB in Indiana, but oh well. Junction with 2 other interstates, and a well-known college town.
Peoria is a more important industrial town, since Caterpillar. Sure, CAT has moved its corporate offices to Chicago and downsized their industrial opps in Peoria, but it is still there

Peoria is the better Control out of Indy. If you want something different, then use Des Moines

Or Quad Cities
I thought about that. But neither Iowa nor Illinois use the overall "Quad Cities"  - Iowa uses Davenport/Bettendorf and Illinois uses Moline/Rock Island. I'm not sure which/how many of the 4 Indiana would even attempt - hence why I went with Des Moines if Peoria isn't "Good Enough"  for Control status. But since InDOT is using Fort Wayne for I-69N, and probably either Bloomington and/or Evansville soon for I-69S along I-465, Peoria checks out for I-74W

Seems very unlikely Bloomington will be used as a control city in Marion County, if at all. Indiana doesn't use intermediate control cities, except in a very few places (the I-70 West exit from 465 South near the old airport terminal used to list Terre Haute, but no replaced by Indpls Int'l Airport). If Bloomington were to be a control city, then so should Terre Haute, Lafayette, Kokomo, Anderson, Richmond, and maybe Columbus Ind.

This part of Indiana utilizes very good choices for control cities.  St Louis, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Dayton, and Louisville are far better choices than the mid-sized towns listed above.  The signage seems to indicate Evansville as the control (and the only control) for I-69 south.  It is appropriate and is the right size and distance from Indianapolis.

Secondary controls really don't seem like a necessary thing here as a reasonably large city is generally within 200 miles.  The one exception is St. Louis, which is about 230 miles away.  The only good arguments for secondary controls exist when the primary controls are much further apart, like I-80 between Cleveland and NYC or I-70 between Denver and KC.

CtrlAltDel

Quote from: ITB on December 03, 2021, 04:29:54 PM

Before putting up more photos from Marion County, here's a brief photo update of the progress in Martinsville.

Photos were taken Thursday, December 2, 2021, unless otherwise noted.


Looking north from the Grand Valley Blvd. overpass in Martinsville. The paving of the lanes appears to be nearly complete where the surcharge had been placed. It's impossible to determine from this perspective how far along the ramps or the two interchange roundabouts might be, but, overall, it appears good progress is being made.

What was up with this section that required the surcharge and asphalt pavement?
Interstates clinched: 4, 57, 275 (IN-KY-OH), 465 (IN), 640 (TN), 985
State Interstates clinched: I-26 (TN), I-75 (GA), I-75 (KY), I-75 (TN), I-81 (WV), I-95 (NH)

silverback1065

Quote from: CtrlAltDel on December 06, 2021, 01:46:05 PM
Quote from: ITB on December 03, 2021, 04:29:54 PM

Before putting up more photos from Marion County, here's a brief photo update of the progress in Martinsville.

Photos were taken Thursday, December 2, 2021, unless otherwise noted.


Looking north from the Grand Valley Blvd. overpass in Martinsville. The paving of the lanes appears to be nearly complete where the surcharge had been placed. It's impossible to determine from this perspective how far along the ramps or the two interchange roundabouts might be, but, overall, it appears good progress is being made.

What was up with this section that required the surcharge and asphalt pavement?

the asphalt you see in that folder is the OG layer of pavement. OG = Open Graded pavement. basically this asphalt is used to guide water into the underdrains to keep the pavement in good condition. Concrete will go on top of this layer. as for the surcharge, not too sure, probably the geotech investigation showed poor soils that needed extra compaction.

ITB


Quote from: silverback1065 on December 06, 2021, 01:53:27 PM
the asphalt you see in that folder is the OG layer of pavement. OG = Open Graded pavement. basically this asphalt is used to guide water into the underdrains to keep the pavement in good condition. Concrete will go on top of this layer. as for the surcharge, not too sure, probably the geotech investigation showed poor soils that needed extra compaction.

Good chance a layer or two of OG asphalt was paved on this small mainline segment, but it doesn't appear a concrete overlay will be put down. This segment likely will be only asphalt. Being a flexible pavement, asphalt is more often used over fill, such as in this case, as opposed to using concrete, which is a rigid. If any settlement occurs in the fill area, asphalt will give a little, while concrete pavement might crack.

Here's another photo of the area:


Note how there doesn't appear to be a significant depth gap between the asphalt and the concrete. If such a gap existed, a small gravel or dirt ramp would have been put down to ease crossing over, but there isn't one. The asphalt paving in this area appears to be complete, or very nearly so.



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