Midwest Construction Watch

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Good evening, road warriors!

I thought I'd do something a little different here and create a thread regarding road construction lasting for the duration of the year. Do you have something Midwestern drivers need to watch out for (or avoid altogether)? Discuss here.

I just read this release from INDOT, and this project will make you even more grateful that the Sherman-Minton bridge reopened early. http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=56731&information_id=113923&type=&syndicate=syndicate

Closer to home, the old Martin Luther King bridge over I-80/94 has been completely removed, and crews are awaiting new beams to continue the replacement. Beware of nightly closures. The eastbound left lane is closed in the immediate area, and is known for heavy snags during the afternoon rush.

U.S. 12/20 (4th Avenue west and 5th Avenue east) is under construction in downtown Gary for resurfacing and modernization. Fourth Avenue will be worked on this year, with Fifth Avenue on the docket for next year.

U.S. 41 (Indianapolis Boulevard) is the road to avoid in Highland; only one lane gets by in each direction for bridge removal and realignment.

If you have anything, share with us here. Have safe travels!

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I-71, north of Columbus is getting resurfaced this summer. This goes along with ODOT rebuilding the interchange between I-71 & US36 and I-71 & Oh 61.

[NWI_Irish96]

As part of the US 31 South Bend to Plymouth upgrade, both the eastbound and westbound passing lanes of US 20 are closed between US 31 and Miami Street. The restriction is expected to last through October as crews build the Fellows Street bridge for the New US 31 project.

As part of the US 31 Hamilton County upgrade, the ramp from southbound US 31 to southbound Keystone Parkway closed on April 9 and will be closed for up to 90 days. All southbound traffic along US 31 will be required to use I-465 as a detour.
Once the southbound lanes reopen, likely in mid-July, the northbound lanes of Keystone Parkway will close for approximately 80 days while work continues on the bridge over the Hagan-Burke Trail.

Also as part of the US31 Hamilton County upgrade, traffic on US 31 and SR 38 is reduced to one lane in each direction. Northbound and southbound traffic share the east (northbound) side of the roadway. Northbound entrance and exit ramps are closed, and southbound entrance and exit ramps are closed.  The posted speed limit on US 31 and SR 38 is 45 mph and will be reduced to 35 mph when workers are present.  SR 38 is closed from Anthony Road to Dunbar Road. There is no access from either SR 38 to US 31, or from US 31 to SR 38. The official signed detour route uses SR 32, US 421 and SR 47.

In Indy, Allisonville Road is closed at I-465.

[silverback1065]

us 421 in Frankfort, IN was under construction the last time i drove through there, does anyone know what their doing there?

[mukade]

US 31 in Kokomo will be down to two lanes in two places at some point this summer where the freeway will be tying in. SR 26 is closed for several miles for rebuild in Howard County, IN. I-70 in Terre Haute was a mess for resurfacing last time I was on it. SR 49 is down to two lanes at CR 400N for interchange construction. The SR 37/I-69 interchange is being rebuilt which causes a lot of backup.

I think the Tri-State is being resurfaced around O'Hare.

[Revive 755]

I think the Tri-State is being resurfaced around O'Hare.

I think it was south of O'Hare to somewhere past 95th Street.

Also:
* I-55 is on a shifted alignment south of the Des Plaines River for reconstruction/relocation of the Arsenal Road interchange

* There's a resurfacing job on I-80 from around I-39 to IL 23.  Lane closures seem to vary, but the speed limit reduction to 55 seems to remain around the clock.

* I-280 (IA-IL) is down to one lane each way around the Mississippi River - I think for bridge deck or similar work.  There is also a four mile head-to-head section on I-280 in Iowa for reconstruction

[hobsini2]

Yes the Tri-State is being resurfaced and rehabed completely from the O'Hare Oasis to just north of 95th St. There were rumors last year that this would include widening the highway to 5 lanes from the Irving Park Toll Plaza to I-55 but that is not happening. 

Also associated with the Tri-State recon, the ramp from I-294 NB/I-190 EB to I-90 WB is closed until sometime in October for recon. The posted detour to I-90 WB is 294 North to Touhy Ave West to 294 South to 90 West. Supposedly according to the ISTHA, drivers will not be charged twice (once at Touhy Plaza, once at Devon Plaza) by doing it this way. I have not had to do it yet so I can not confirm.

If you are leaving O'Hare on 190 East, I recommend going North on US 12/45 Mannheim Rd to IL 72 Higgins Rd East to I-90 West on-ramp at Devon Ave OR go all the way out on 90 East to Cumberland Ave North and loop back onto 90 West. By doing either way, you only go thru 1 toll plaza (Devon Plaza).

[mukade]

Wasn't that section rebuilt a short time ago?

[triplemultiplex]

Keep an eye on the US 41 interstate conversion thread for the latest about the massive reconstructions through Oshkosh and Green Bay.

The story on the Mitchell Interchange in Milwaukee the rest of the year will be mostly one of openings rather than closures.  All systems movements are unobstructed and will get additional lanes later this year as the core interchange project wraps up.

Lane closures on I-43 in Sheboygan County through August for repaving; Ozaukee County for bridge re-deckings. (let's get some new pavement in that county too, eh?)

I-94 repaving by Miller Park is done.

I-94 is under construction in Kenosha County between WI 50 and WI 158 (expanding to 8 lanes); also in Racine County at 7 Mile Road.

The repaving of I-35 through Duluth will be done by the end of the month if not already.  You're clear for the 4th weekend(s).

[SSOWorld]

I-39 under construction at Maple Ridge Road (between Mosinee and Wausau) as they redo the interchange

US 10 being expanded between Marshfield and Stevens Point.  Several re-routes are happening this summer - the biggest being WIS 13 being rerouted along US 10 east to WIS 34 south to Wis Rapids.

Wasn't that section rebuilt a short time ago?

The Rosemont Interchange is old.  The Tri-state from that point south to I-55 is also pretty old.

[Brandon]

Wasn't that section rebuilt a short time ago?

No, unless you consider 20 years a short time ago.

[Revive 755]

Also associated with the Tri-State recon, the ramp from I-294 NB/I-190 EB to I-90 WB is closed until sometime in October for recon. The posted detour to I-90 WB is 294 North to Touhy Ave West to 294 South to 90 West. Supposedly according to the ISTHA, drivers will not be charged twice (once at Touhy Plaza, once at Devon Plaza) by doing it this way. I have not had to do it yet so I can not confirm.

There are orange signs over some of the toll plaza lanes at the I-294 plaza north of I-90 and the I-90 plaza west of I-294 for the detour traffic; I think cash customers are being handed a ticket to give back at the I-90 plaza to prevent them from being double tolled.

[triplemultiplex]

Should make a note in here about the severe flooding in and around the twin ports this week.  The Duluth area got 10 inches of rain in a day and half.

The Knife River wiped out MN 61 north of Duluth.
Huge stretches of MN 73 are underwater in and around Moose Lake.
The St. Louis River did a number on MN 210:




Across the border, WI 13 is closed east of US 53 and then way down in Glidden, the Chippewa River is doing it's usual flooding of WI 13 through town.  I know the spot; just north of the gas station where the river swings close to the highway and there's a snowmobile trail bridge over the river.  It's a routine closure whenever there's high water up north.

[Jordanah1]

the US45 interchange will completley open in oshkosh, along with a mile of northbound US41 north of lake butte des morts on June 26, ahead of the July 4th rush up 'tooo da nort'

[pianocello]

Watch out for I-196 south of Holland, it's down to one lane each direction for about 10 miles south of Holland, and it looks like there are poles for future construction signs all the way to I-94.

Also in Grand Rapids, it looks like US-131 SB is completely closed somewhere between I-196 and M-6, with backups going almost to I-96.

[ShawnP]

I-65 and the Kennedy thru Louisville. A badly needed bridge decking job has kicked off this week thru September. The southbound lanes were literally crumbling and falling into the Ohio. The potholes were so huge that you could see 10-20 rims every time you cross the bridge. Was going to be done last fall but the Sherman Minton changed that. They are to keep two lanes open at all times but you never know. A major repaving project is also going on south of the Kennedy on I-65 with 8 inches of pavement and Jersey Barrier reconstruction going on. Best to avoid this area all together.

[hbelkins]

I-65 and the Kennedy thru Louisville. A badly needed bridge decking job has kicked off this week thru September. ... They are to keep two lanes open at all times but you never know.

The other evening, they were reporting a 45-minute delay in getting through Louisville into Indiana. Ugh. They're recommending using I-264 to I-64 to I-265 (crossing the Sherman Minton) as an alternate route.

Best to avoid this area all together.

That's my advice 24/7/365! 

[jpi]

Ditto! Hate driveing through Louisville on 65!

[NWI_Irish96]

Best to avoid this area all together.

Unless, of course, you live here.  Had friends coming from Louisville to Jeffersonville Friday evening.  One used 65 and it took 45 minutes to get from Exit 133 (U of L) to Exit 1 (Downtown Jeffersonville), which is about 6 miles.

Another tried to avoid that by using 264/64/265, but it took them 45 minutes to get from Dixie Hwy to New Albany.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Work to replace the Martin Luther King bridge over I-80/94 resumes tonight. Crews will be positioning beams over the highway starting at 11pm, with 20 minute closures every 30 minutes, lasting until 5am. The eastbound lanes will go first tonight and tomorrow night, while the westbound lanes will be shuttered at times Wednesday and Thursday night.

As a side effect, the ramp connecting I-65 north to I-80/94 west will be closed during the Wednesday-Thursday work. Traffic will be detoured to I-80/94 EAST, using Ripley Street to loop back westbound. However, those not driving semi-trucks can very easily use Central Avenue to swing back onto the westbound expressway. If you have money to burn and heading to Chicago, the Toll Road would be the superior choice.

[ShawnP]

Down to 3 lanes between both south and north bound on I-65 on the Kennedy. Some folks are reporting hour long backups on I-65 thru Louisville.

[ShawnP]

http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=56997&information_id=114468&type=&syndicate=syndicate

[JREwing78]

WI-26 north of Janesville, WI to Milton is under construction as WISDOT partially limits driveway and side-road access, and begins construction of the 4-lane expansion around Milton.

Janesville to Milton is still 2 lanes each way, but lots of lane shifting is in place for the construction work, and it's sluggish through there. Through and north of Milton is smooth sailing, though at some later date there will be twinning work north of the Rock-Jefferson county line.

[NWI_Irish96]

Down to 3 lanes between both south and north bound on I-65 on the Kennedy. Some folks are reporting hour long backups on I-65 thru Louisville.

Yep, took my wife an hour to go about 5 miles northbound yesterday, and that was at 2:30 pm, not even rush hour.

[ShawnP]

Luckily I live west of town. No backups in Lanesville (no stop lights). Took a hard hit with the Minton but this one hasn't caused much pain. Just shows how much that East End bridge is needed.