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Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

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

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hoosierguy

Quote from: ShawnP on October 07, 2012, 05:50:07 PM
I say toll all the exits and entrances to Bloomington.

What a sick twisted assertion. Punish the people of Bloomington because they exercised their democratic rights to oppose a billion dollar boondoggle? Give me a break. How about we toll your driveway?


NE2

Shawn's being a sore winner. Let him gloat while he can.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

Henry

Quote from: hoosierguy on October 11, 2012, 09:23:46 PM
Quote from: ShawnP on October 07, 2012, 05:50:07 PM
I say toll all the exits and entrances to Bloomington.

What a sick twisted assertion. Punish the people of Bloomington because they exercised their democratic rights to oppose a billion dollar boondoggle? Give me a break. How about we toll your driveway?
Quote from: NE2 on October 11, 2012, 09:49:15 PM
Shawn's being a sore winner. Let him gloat while he can.
Actually, tolling the remainder of I-69 is not a bad idea. It can be built on top of IN 37, which already has 4 lanes in that corridor.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

tdindy88

Tolling that part of I-69 from Bloomington to Indianapolis HAD been proposed in the past, but Daniels decided against it. Originally they thought about tolling the whole thing and then part of it before deciding against it. Of course, the idea could be revived and a toll road could still happen, I think. I'd be fine with it under one condition, the highway must go back to free status once the cost to build the highway are paid, similar to Kentucky's parkways. As for building I-69 on top of SR 37, I believe the current idea at least with Section 5 is to have a frontage road follow one half of the current SR 37 and have the interstate follow on the other side (with more added to side for the interstate's width presumeably.)

mukade

Quote
If you are new to Indiana, there are mysteries you need to understand. One of those is called Interstate 69, the highway being built between Indianapolis, Bloomington, Crane, and Evansville...

OPINION: A premium highway deserves a premium price (Indiana Economic Digest)

theline

Quote from: tdindy88 on October 15, 2012, 02:50:05 PM
I'd be fine with it under one condition, the highway must go back to free status once the cost to build the highway are paid, similar to Kentucky's parkways.

Of course, they'll make the road free when the bonds are paid off. That's what they did with the Indiana Toll Road in my part of the state.

Wait a minute! I'm still paying tolls to go to Grandma's.

The funny thing is that I don't have any trouble paying a toll on the Indy to Bloomington road if that will get it done much sooner. When I visit my daughter in Evansville, I'd gladly pay a toll to forego the nightmare that is I-70 and US-41.

Quote from: mukade on October 15, 2012, 10:10:56 PM
Quote
If you are new to Indiana, there are mysteries you need to understand. One of those is called Interstate 69, the highway being built between Indianapolis, Bloomington, Crane, and Evansville...

OPINION: A premium highway deserves a premium price (Indiana Economic Digest)

Well reasoned article. It's past time that the obstructionists realize that it's not a road to benefit just Indy and Evansville, but a road that can benefit the whole region.

ShawnP

Indiana and it's residents have the right to gloat. Every step of the way those folks in Bloomington fought and fought this road. Yet most of them will drive on it when it's finished. Indiana did something no other state has done in decades and that is build over 100 miles of new construction Interstate.

theline

According to the Build I-69 web site, the draft environmental impact statement for Section 5 is expected this month. Also, meetings of the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization's Citizens Advisory Committee, which will likely be discussing I-69, are scheduled for October 24 and November 26. The meetings will take place at Bloomington City Hall, Suite 135, beginning at 6:30.

The whole posting is here: http://www.buildi69.com/?p=1703

RoadWarrior56

Has INDOT announced a date when the I-69 section from Evansville to Crane will be open to traffic?  I know their goal is this November, but we are more than half-way through October, and November is close at hand.

IndyAgent

I have seen reports it will be done in Late November but here is a link to the progress and there are 4 links at the upper left that let you see the maps and the completion ratio

http://www.i69indyevn.org/section-design-schedule/

mukade

Quote from: RoadWarrior56 on October 17, 2012, 06:13:36 PM
Has INDOT announced a date when the I-69 section from Evansville to Crane will be open to traffic?  I know their goal is this November, but we are more than half-way through October, and November is close at hand.

Remember that the open house is this Saturday so we'll at least be able to see the progress. Maybe, we'll be lucky and see an INDOT person there.

INDOT should have a busy month with I-69, US 24 (Fort to Port), SR 25 (Lafayette to Delphi), and the US 31/SR 38 interchange opening up. US 31 Kokomo and US 31 South Bend are also both really coming along, but the Kokomo part opens next year and South Bend part in 2014.

mukade

Here are details on an event at another interchange. It looks like the governor may speak at this one.

I-69 celebration set for Saturday (Tristate-Media)


truejd

That is a really cool pic in that article!  I can't wait to drive the finished route.  I'm stoked!

Henry

67 miles of new construction has to be a big achievement these days! Definitely looks like an interesting road to drive on :)
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

RoadWarrior56

When I was a kid and into my early adult years, a 67-mile section of new freeway would open weekly at one or more locations around the country.  Now look at us!  We are celebrating the completion of a 67-mile section of new freeway at a single location in the United States as if it is something special. It should not be as special as it is.

I realize the interstate system has been built-out for decades and that we don't really need a new 42,000 mile highway system.  But the regulatory/enviornmental/financial hurdles have made it an almost impossibly expensive and time-consuming undertaking to build all but the most trivial projects.  It has taken 7 years to get a series of  signal upgrade projects I have been involved in constructed from conception these days, when using federal funds.

When I hear energy people complain about the long delays in getting drilling permits on federal lands, my reply is that it is no easier or quicker to get a road built.  Sorry for the rant, just had to let it out.

mukade

#540
It is just that difficulty that makes this a significant event. On the other hand (forgetting the exact quote), Daniels said something to the effect that if you make it a priority, you will succeed - implying that others only paid lip service to the project. The I-69 documentary said more or less the same thing. Whether or not you like the current governor, he found a way to very quickly get this road done. If you grew up in Evansville, you know I-69 has been discussed for decades, but other than route selection, nothing was done to make it happen until 2005. That is remarkable.

RoadWarrior56

As an ex-resident of Indiana and somebody who grew up in Evansville, I think Daniels is the best governor of the state at least since Otis Bowen.  I am glad he is going to be president of Purdue when he is done with being governor.  It does take the push of high elected officials to cut through the obsticles that are in front of any major project these days.  The money from the Toll Road lease didn't hurt either.

mukade

INDOT lists the details of the festivities this Saturday here. If anyone is going to more than one event, it looks like it makes sense to start north and go south as the two northern ones start at 9:00 am EDT. Going south, the next two start an hour later, and the one at SR 64 begins three hours later than the two northern events.

WrkHrse

Quote from: NE2 on September 03, 2012, 04:42:47 PM
Harding would go straight through; the southbound lanes of SR 37 would be retained for local access between Harding and Epler.
That's what I was wondering. Thanks!

Henry

Quote from: WrkHrse on October 18, 2012, 11:12:54 PM
Quote from: NE2 on September 03, 2012, 04:42:47 PM
Harding would go straight through; the southbound lanes of SR 37 would be retained for local access between Harding and Epler.
That's what I was wondering. Thanks!
Somehow, I was thinking the exact same thing!
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

IndyAgent

It looks like they will moving the west moving exit to Harding street quite a bit farther back, this should keep backup's off of 465 and they should have done this a long time ago.  It looks like you stay on 465 west and exit just to 69 south just past the harding bridge

What could be a problem is people exiting 69 onto 465 east very close to Harding street which always backs up, I hope they find a way to make exiting from 69 to 465 east seemless

mukade

I decided to go down to the I-69 open house, and was a bit surprised at how much work is left to do.

Where it looks good: SR 168, SR 64, and US 231 interchanges look fairly close. The former two look completely signed and the latter still needs the BGSes.

Where it looks dicey: US 50 looks the worst with paving on US 50 itself not done, paving (and even final grading) on two ramps not done, and a myriad of other things to do. SR 56/SR 61 and SR 58 are also not done. They are also still paving shoulders on the mainline in places.

None of the new road from SR 68 all the way to US 231 is striped yet.

The weather was mostly heavy overcast, so I still need to see if I took any picturesI took are worth posting.

tdindy88

Looks like they are really going for the very end of the year. I'm curious, are the BGSs you saw consistant based on the plans that we've seen?

mukade

Here are some pictures taken at the SR 168 interchange. This interchange was the only one without a community day and it looked done except for striping and maybe lighting - I will assume this interchange may not have lights because it is a minor state road not near any town.

I could not get any pictures of the green directional signs.


Northbound from SR 168 overpass


Southbound from SR 168 overpass


Eastbound SR 168 at I-69 overpass


mukade

Here are some pictures taken at the SR 64 interchange just west of Oakland City. This interchange had a community day celebration, but it started latest of the five events so I did not go to it. As with all interchanges, the highway was not striped and there were no lights, but it looked very close to being complete.


Northbound from SR 64 overpass


Southbound from SR 64 overpass


Northbound from CR 350S overpass looking toward SR 64


Northbound SR 57 at I-69 overpass - interesting because you can see all the paving equipment still in use. To the right of SR 57 under the bridge are still many pieces of construction equipment.



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