Indiana Notes

[silverback1065]

I found a website that is discussing future plans to improve I-80/94 from IL 394 to I-65.

https://indianaflexroad.com/

Looks like a lot of interesting things are planned that have not been done in Indiana before including shoulder rolling (the shoulder is sometimes a thru lane)

They have to do something. The traffic volumes are too much for the existing roadway. Expanding the right of way would make the phrase "not in my back yard" quite literal for me.

Of course building the Iliana would be the best option but that seems to be dead.

you forgot the Texas option    lanes on bridges above the mainline!

[hobsini2]

I found a website that is discussing future plans to improve I-80/94 from IL 394 to I-65.

https://indianaflexroad.com/

Looks like a lot of interesting things are planned that have not been done in Indiana before including shoulder rolling (the shoulder is sometimes a thru lane)

They have to do something. The traffic volumes are too much for the existing roadway. Expanding the right of way would make the phrase "not in my back yard" quite literal for me.

Of course building the Iliana would be the best option but that seems to be dead.

you forgot the Texas option    lanes on bridges above the mainline!

If they built a reversible 2 lane structure above 80/94, there would have to be a big height clearance since 80/94 is already below all the cross bridges. Something like 26 feet at a cross bridge and maybe 50 feet or more at the interchanges with flyover ramps like Il 394/80/94/294, Calumet Ave, Kennedy Ave, Cline Ave and I-65. I would have 3 interchanges between the mainline and the reversible lanes, IL 394/I-80/94/294, Ind 912 Cline Ave, I-65. I would even consider having lanes be extended to the Indiana Toll Road junction.

[ITB]

It's official. INDOT has awarded the contract to widen and reconstruct I-70 in Wayne County to a Walsh Construction/Crider & Crider/Rieth Riley joint venture. The winning bid was $377,839,225.91. More specifically, this contract covers the stretch of I-70 from the Ohio state line to .8 mile west of US 35. According to the bid results, Porous Hot Mix Asphalt (PHMA) will be the material of choice for the I-70 mainline, rather than Portland Cement Concrete (PCC).

This is the first of three proposed contracts of INDOT's Revive I-70 program. INDOT has not yet indicated when the second contract will be let. Nor have they committed to widening I-70 further in Wayne County beyond the first contract.

See the official bid results here, page 12.

[silverback1065]

that will leave a gap from 9 to 1 that will need to be filled, seems like this part of 70 (indy to Ohio) will be 6 lanes very soon

[ITB]

INDOT gets approval to spend $256 million on welcome centers and additional truck parking.

[NWI_Irish96]

that will leave a gap from 9 to 1 that will need to be filled, seems like this part of 70 (indy to Ohio) will be 6 lanes very soon

Please do West Lafayette to Lowell first.

[ITB]

A legislative task force is currently looking into how Indiana's roads and bridges will be funded in the future. The task force, called Funding Indiana's Roads for a Stronger, Safer Tomorrow (FIRSST), is expected to issue its final recommendations to the General Assembly this fall. The recommendations will likely center around a long-term funding plan and which projects are to be prioritized.

Included on the wish lists of some legislators, according to the linked article, are projects to widen and reconstruct I-65 and I-70. "I think it's important when you're the Crossroads of America for both commerce and, quite frankly, for safety issues that we expand and make 65 and 70 three lanes border to border," Speaker Huston said in November of last year.

No dollar figures have been released, and we'll know more when the final recommendations are submitted, but it will almost certainly involve big numbers. Of perhaps greater interest is what projects will be singled out as priority.  Of course, input from INDOT will be front and center, but in the end, being a government department, INDOT does what the legislature wants. If the legislature prioritizes I-65 and I-70 widening projects, which is a distinct possibility, they will happen sooner rather than later.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Spring Mill Road over I-465 (just east of exit 31) is closed due to an oversized load hitting the bridge beams...

[cjw2001]

Spring Mill Road over I-465 (just east of exit 31) is closed due to an oversized load hitting the bridge beams...

https://x.com/CFD911runs/status/1813983524728549643

[I-55]

That bridge was likely going to have to be rebuilt anyway due to the upcoming widening project on I-465 between 82nd St and US 31. I wouldn't be surprised to see a full rebuild of the bridge with more room underneath for lanes on both the I-465 mainline as well as the ramp from US 31.

[Great Lakes Roads]

That bridge was likely going to have to be rebuilt anyway due to the upcoming widening project on I-465 between 82nd St and US 31. I wouldn't be surprised to see a full rebuild of the bridge with more room underneath for lanes on both the I-465 mainline as well as the ramp from US 31.

I would not be surprised if INDOT decides to go ahead and replace this bridge before they start rebuilding I-465 between 86th Street (exit 23) to US 31/Meridian Street (exit 31)... 

[ITB]

Pressure is mounting to upgrade US 30 to a freeway in northern Indiana. At a US 30 Coalition Summit event in Warsaw, Ivan Tornos, the president of Zimmer Biomet, one of the Indiana's largest employers, said "We need to get a freeway that is safe and efficient. We must get US 30 resolved. Lives and jobs are at risk." He added that he and Governor Holcomb would be meeting again to talk specifically about US 30. "We want to be in Warsaw, Indiana, for the next 800 years ... but we can not make the commitment to be here long term if we don't resolve this."

In total, there were three panel discussions that took place at the event. More than 100 state and local business and political leaders attended. Read an in-depth account of the discussions, published by inkFreeNews.com, and from which the above quotes were taken, here.

[hobsini2]

Pressure is mounting to upgrade US 30 to a freeway in northern Indiana. At a US 30 Coalition Summit event in Warsaw, Ivan Tornos, the president of Zimmer Biomet, one of the Indiana's largest employers, said "We need to get a freeway that is safe and efficient. We must get US 30 resolved. Lives and jobs are at risk." He added that he and Governor Holcomb would be meeting again to talk specifically about US 30. "We want to be in Warsaw, Indiana, for the next 800 years ... but we can not make the commitment to be here long term if we don't resolve this."

In total, there were three panel discussions that took place at the event. More than 100 state and local business and political leaders attended. Read an in-depth account of the discussions, published by inkFreeNews.com, and from which the above quotes were taken, here.

Good. They should make US 30 a freeway at least around the bigger towns and small cities. I would like to see freeway upgrades to 30 in Indiana as follows:
I-65 - Merrillville to Indiana 49 - Valparaiso
Queen Rd - Plymouth to Indiana 331 - Bourbon
N 700 W Rd - Atwood to I-69 - Ft Wayne
The rest of it can remain expressway as it currently is.

[NWI_Irish96]

Pressure is mounting to upgrade US 30 to a freeway in northern Indiana. At a US 30 Coalition Summit event in Warsaw, Ivan Tornos, the president of Zimmer Biomet, one of the Indiana's largest employers, said "We need to get a freeway that is safe and efficient. We must get US 30 resolved. Lives and jobs are at risk." He added that he and Governor Holcomb would be meeting again to talk specifically about US 30. "We want to be in Warsaw, Indiana, for the next 800 years ... but we can not make the commitment to be here long term if we don't resolve this."

In total, there were three panel discussions that took place at the event. More than 100 state and local business and political leaders attended. Read an in-depth account of the discussions, published by inkFreeNews.com, and from which the above quotes were taken, here.

Good. They should make US 30 a freeway at least around the bigger towns and small cities. I would like to see freeway upgrades to 30 in Indiana as follows:
I-65 - Merrillville to Indiana 49 - Valparaiso
Queen Rd - Plymouth to Indiana 331 - Bourbon
N 700 W Rd - Atwood to I-69 - Ft Wayne
The rest of it can remain expressway as it currently is.

Part of the agreement to lease the toll road was an agreement not to build/upgrade to freeway within a certain distance. I'm not 100% certain, but I think this eliminates the possibility of any upgrades west of Marshall County.

[ilpt4u]

Pressure is mounting to upgrade US 30 to a freeway in northern Indiana. At a US 30 Coalition Summit event in Warsaw, Ivan Tornos, the president of Zimmer Biomet, one of the Indiana's largest employers, said "We need to get a freeway that is safe and efficient. We must get US 30 resolved. Lives and jobs are at risk." He added that he and Governor Holcomb would be meeting again to talk specifically about US 30. "We want to be in Warsaw, Indiana, for the next 800 years ... but we can not make the commitment to be here long term if we don't resolve this."

In total, there were three panel discussions that took place at the event. More than 100 state and local business and political leaders attended. Read an in-depth account of the discussions, published by inkFreeNews.com, and from which the above quotes were taken, here.

Good. They should make US 30 a freeway at least around the bigger towns and small cities. I would like to see freeway upgrades to 30 in Indiana as follows:
I-65 - Merrillville to Indiana 49 - Valparaiso
Queen Rd - Plymouth to Indiana 331 - Bourbon
N 700 W Rd - Atwood to I-69 - Ft Wayne
The rest of it can remain expressway as it currently is.

Part of the agreement to lease the toll road was an agreement not to build/upgrade to freeway within a certain distance. I'm not 100% certain, but I think this eliminates the possibility of any upgrades west of Marshall County.

Start swinging it a bit south of whatever the minimum separation distance from I-90 and south of Merrillville and make it tie into the Indiana side of the Illiana...aka Everyone's fictional I-76 or relocated I-80

A legit southern suburban alternative to 80/94 would have to make money unless the tolls are ungodly high

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Pressure is mounting to upgrade US 30 to a freeway in northern Indiana. At a US 30 Coalition Summit event in Warsaw, Ivan Tornos, the president of Zimmer Biomet, one of the Indiana's largest employers, said "We need to get a freeway that is safe and efficient. We must get US 30 resolved. Lives and jobs are at risk." He added that he and Governor Holcomb would be meeting again to talk specifically about US 30. "We want to be in Warsaw, Indiana, for the next 800 years ... but we can not make the commitment to be here long term if we don't resolve this."

In total, there were three panel discussions that took place at the event. More than 100 state and local business and political leaders attended. Read an in-depth account of the discussions, published by inkFreeNews.com, and from which the above quotes were taken, here.

Good. They should make US 30 a freeway at least around the bigger towns and small cities. I would like to see freeway upgrades to 30 in Indiana as follows:
I-65 - Merrillville to Indiana 49 - Valparaiso
Queen Rd - Plymouth to Indiana 331 - Bourbon
N 700 W Rd - Atwood to I-69 - Ft Wayne
The rest of it can remain expressway as it currently is.

Part of the agreement to lease the toll road was an agreement not to build/upgrade to freeway within a certain distance. I'm not 100% certain, but I think this eliminates the possibility of any upgrades west of Marshall County.

If I remember from what I read when this was discussed in this thread a while back, the minimum allowed distance between the freeway alternative to the Toll Road and the Toll Road itself was 10 miles, which would disqualify the stretch of US 30 between I-65 and Indiana 55. Since this is not part of the study, this is a moot point.

While I would want to see US 30 go full freeway from I-65 to Indiana 49, it's far too developed in that area to make it feasible. The only possible avenue to make it work is to somehow tie it into some form of what would have been the Illiana Expressway, which would put it well south of its current footprint.

Even if you try to make it a limited-access divided highway along the same lines as US 41 and move it south of US 30s current footprint in Lake County, you run into conflict with every major local thoroughfare in Crown Point until you get south of US 231, which loses the plot a little bit. I hope they find something to alleviate traffic off that section of US 30, as it can be nuts driving through during peak hours.

Having a freeway from Valparaiso to I-469, on the other hand, is very doable. The only challenging sections would be Columbia City and Warsaw, in which freeway bypasses would need to be built to keep it nonstop.

As we all know, US 30 is the only other viable divided highway alternative to the Toll Road connecting Illinois to Ohio. A freeway conversion of some form is long overdue.

[sprjus4]

Pressure is mounting to upgrade US 30 to a freeway in northern Indiana. At a US 30 Coalition Summit event in Warsaw, Ivan Tornos, the president of Zimmer Biomet, one of the Indiana's largest employers, said "We need to get a freeway that is safe and efficient. We must get US 30 resolved. Lives and jobs are at risk." He added that he and Governor Holcomb would be meeting again to talk specifically about US 30. "We want to be in Warsaw, Indiana, for the next 800 years ... but we can not make the commitment to be here long term if we don't resolve this."

In total, there were three panel discussions that took place at the event. More than 100 state and local business and political leaders attended. Read an in-depth account of the discussions, published by inkFreeNews.com, and from which the above quotes were taken, here.

Good. They should make US 30 a freeway at least around the bigger towns and small cities. I would like to see freeway upgrades to 30 in Indiana as follows:
I-65 - Merrillville to Indiana 49 - Valparaiso
Queen Rd - Plymouth to Indiana 331 - Bourbon
N 700 W Rd - Atwood to I-69 - Ft Wayne
The rest of it can remain expressway as it currently is.

Part of the agreement to lease the toll road was an agreement not to build/upgrade to freeway within a certain distance. I'm not 100% certain, but I think this eliminates the possibility of any upgrades west of Marshall County.

If I remember from what I read when this was discussed in this thread a while back, the minimum allowed distance between the freeway alternative to the Toll Road and the Toll Road itself was 10 miles, which would disqualify the stretch of US 30 between I-65 and Indiana 55. Since this is not part of the study, this is a moot point.

While I would want to see US 30 go full freeway from I-65 to Indiana 49, it's far too developed in that area to make it feasible. The only possible avenue to make it work is to somehow tie it into some form of what would have been the Illiana Expressway, which would put it well south of its current footprint.

Even if you try to make it a limited-access divided highway along the same lines as US 41 and move it south of US 30s current footprint in Lake County, you run into conflict with every major local thoroughfare in Crown Point until you get south of US 231, which loses the plot a little bit. I hope they find something to alleviate traffic off that section of US 30, as it can be nuts driving through during peak hours.

Having a freeway from Valparaiso to I-469, on the other hand, is very doable. The only challenging sections would be Columbia City and Warsaw, in which freeway bypasses would need to be built to keep it nonstop.

As we all know, US 30 is the only other viable divided highway alternative to the Toll Road connecting Illinois to Ohio. A freeway conversion of some form is long overdue.

Technically, everything along US-30 west of US-421 (east of Valparaiso) is within 10 miles of the Toll Road.

If they're trying to stay within the terms of a non-compete clause, build a north-south toll road "extension" parallel to US-421 connecting the Toll Road to US-30, then upgrade US-30 east of there. Brand the new toll road as a US-421 bypass, arguing it's not intended for east-west traffic, despite it deliberately funneling traffic from the main Toll Road to a free US-30.

[NWI_Irish96]

I think, realistically, the best you can hope for is a full freeway from IN 15 to I-69, and some isolated upgrades to interchanges at places like IN 19, IN 39, US 421, maybe IN 23.

[silverback1065]

US 30 as it is isn't terrible. It will likely remain a low priority for a very long time, there are several more important corridors for them to address, I-65 and 70 6 laning, US 31 full freeway, and I-80/94 upgrades. If money were no object, I'd build the Illiana, run it east of 65 to run into 30 around 39 make 30 a freeway all the way to 69 and throw 80 on it, then 80 could jump up 69 to meet the toll road.

[Plutonic Panda]

What are the chances the Illiana is ever constructed? Isn't there a freight rail component as part of that proposal?

[ITB]

What are the chances the Illiana is ever constructed? Isn't there a freight rail component as part of that proposal?

Right now, the chances of the Illiana being constructed are slim to none. But projects like the Illiana tend to hover in the background, awaiting a major advocate to strike a match. A good example is the I-69 extension in Indiana and former governor Mitch Daniels. He wanted the road built, and he found a way to make it happen.

While the current prospects of the Illiana are dim, there is the quixotic Burnham Highway, a proposed privately funded expressway. To be sure, that proposal stands little chance of becoming a reality, but, in time, maybe 20 or 40 years hence, some sort of southern Chicagoland bypass will be built, perhaps via a public-private partnership.

[ITB]

US 30 as it is isn't terrible. It will likely remain a low priority for a very long time, there are several more important corridors for them to address, I-65 and 70 6 laning, US 31 full freeway, and I-80/94 upgrades.

When a major business figure meets with the governor to specifically discuss upgrading US 30, it tends to take on increasing importance. Wouldn't be a surprise at all if INDOT Commissioner Mike Smith and other INDOT executives were asked to attend.

[Revive 755]

Technically, everything along US-30 west of US-421 (east of Valparaiso) is within 10 miles of the Toll Road.

If they're trying to stay within the terms of a non-compete clause, build a north-south toll road "extension" parallel to US-421 connecting the Toll Road to US-30, then upgrade US-30 east of there. Brand the new toll road as a US-421 bypass, arguing it's not intended for east-west traffic, despite it deliberately funneling traffic from the main Toll Road to a free US-30.

May be better to just build a new southern alignment for US 30 from about US 421 over to IN 49 that meets the 10 mile separation requirement.  IN 49 is three overpasses away from being a full freeway from US 30 to the Toll Road (not counting the stoplight at the Toll Road interchange).  I don't think that part of Indiana has grown enough yet to justify another freeway along US 421.

[cjw2001]

INDOT launches Safe Zones pilot program to improve work zone safety

Starting Wednesday, Aug. 14, camera technology will be deployed in the current I-70 construction zone in Hancock County (MM 95-105).  Deployment will start with a pre-enforcement warning period during which no violations will be issued, but courtesy warnings will be sent. Additional worksites will be added to the program over time. By statute, INDOT may deploy cameras in up to four sites at any given time. 

[sprjus4]

Technically, everything along US-30 west of US-421 (east of Valparaiso) is within 10 miles of the Toll Road.

If they're trying to stay within the terms of a non-compete clause, build a north-south toll road "extension" parallel to US-421 connecting the Toll Road to US-30, then upgrade US-30 east of there. Brand the new toll road as a US-421 bypass, arguing it's not intended for east-west traffic, despite it deliberately funneling traffic from the main Toll Road to a free US-30.

May be better to just build a new southern alignment for US 30 from about US 421 over to IN 49 that meets the 10 mile separation requirement.  IN 49 is three overpasses away from being a full freeway from US 30 to the Toll Road (not counting the stoplight at the Toll Road interchange).  I don't think that part of Indiana has grown enough yet to justify another freeway along US 421.

I agree - I did not realize that IN-49 is virtually a freeway between the Toll Road and US-30.