Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

[paulthemapguy]

The signage on WB I-465 in Big Rig Steve's video looked fairly minimal as well.

I experienced this firsthand a few weeks ago. I drove I-465 WB to drive the new piece of I-69, and locating the exit was not an easy task. In short, I agree.

[jnewkirk77]

Ground was broken this morning on the Indiana side of the Ohio River where work is now underway on Section 3 - the approach to the bridge from existing I-69. Coverage from local media:

14 WFIE
ABC 25 WEHT/CW 7 WTVW

[Rick Powell]

Ground was broken this morning on the Indiana side of the Ohio River where work is now underway on Section 3 - the approach to the bridge from existing I-69. Coverage from local media:

14 WFIE
ABC 25 WEHT/CW 7 WTVW

Soon, our attention will shift from Indianapolis to this direction. There is a separate thread on the I-69 Ohio River crossing "ORX" project at https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=3245.0 where the discussion should probably be kept.

[Interstate 69 Fan]

Appears the opening of the westbound lanes of I-465 in the vicinity of the I-69 interchange is imminent - all striped and ready to go. They're even moving jersey barriers farther west.

[seicer]

Appears the opening of the westbound lanes of I-465 in the vicinity of the I-69 interchange is imminent - all striped and ready to go. They're even moving jersey barriers farther west.

And the Interstate 69 shields along Interstate 465 and side entrances have been uncovered.

[silverback1065]

does this mean the white river bridge is done?

[Rick Powell]

does this mean the white river bridge is done?

And it can't be too long before the mainline piece following the removal of the IN 37 severed connection near Epler Avenue is ready to open and they can fully open the northbound lanes to traffic.

[tdindy88]

Based upon my own driving through the I-465 construction zone on a regular basis, I see no reason why westbound I-465 can't be open by Thanksgiving with almost all work on that stuff finished. Maybe even sooner than that. They are working at a great speed in that construction zone and I've been generally impressed with it.

Back to I-69 in general. I got the chance to head down to Evansville yesterday and saw that signage in the Evansville area has indeed been updated to include a northbound control city for Indianapolis along I-69. I know it's been mentioned here already but I haven't seen any pictures of that so I thought I'd take some and share them here.

The first picture is along eastbound I-64 approaching I-69. I'm not sure why the SR 57 portion of the signage had to be done the way it was done but you can see Indy on the signs. Also, only Evansville is on the southbound sign with no mention of Henderson. It appeared that there was still both Evansville and Henderson on the westbound I-64 signage.


The next picture is along US 41 north at the start of I-69. This would mark the furthest south that Indianapolis is mentioned in southwest Indiana. Also, due to the spacing of signage along US 41 approaching I-69, there is a I-69 north Indianapolis sign technically on the Kentucky side of the border.


This picture is along the westbound lanes of the Lloyd Expressway at I-69. I was also curious by the new intersection with Epworth Road. Going west, having I-69 south for Evansville makes sense if your destination is Downtown and you don't want to mess with the Lloyd, but it does seem weird going east to see Evansville as well. It seems that even heading east OUT of Evansville, I-69 south still directs you to Evansville.


Looking east on Morgan Avenue at I-69. This is now the standard signage for northbound I-69 with Indianapolis as a control city. From what I saw, all interchanges along I-69 up to Bloomington have now been changed with Indianapolis finally added to the signs.


A new mileage sign along I-69 north near the I-64 interchange. This appears to be the first place where the distance to Indianapolis is signed in the Evansville area. The signs seem to feature the next highway, the secondary control city (Washington and then Bloomington) and Indianapolis on them.


As of this moment, I only saw these mileage signs along I-69 in Gibson County, up to SR 64. So I think they're still being updated elsewhere. There a couple of (what I presume) as temporary mileage signs further up on the highway.

Finally, here at the I-64 interchange we now get a pull-through for I-69 north to Indianapolis.


So there we have it. In the coming months we'll see final signage for Evansville in Indianapolis and now we have signage for Indianapolis in Evansville. Also, it was great to get on I-69 in Evansville and drive all the way to I-465 without any stoppage (other than a fuel break at least.)

On a final note, there was road construction on the part of I-69 in the Evansville area between Covert Avenue and US 41. I presume this has to do with the upcoming interchange with the new I-69 bridge over the Ohio River.

[I-55]

BigRigTravels drove through the I-465 work zone westbound this past Thursday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taLtIS3usKE

Some useful timestamps:

2:30:34 - Enters work zone at MM 53
2:30:59 - Signage assembly with I-465, I-69, I-74 in that order. It appears that >99% of concrete pavement has been poured in the westbound lanes, eastbound lags behind.
2:33:26 - Bridge work over Lick Creek and Meridian St. When these bridges are completed it is likely that the road as a whole will be ready to stripe and open in full configuration.
2:36:00 - approaching Exit 5 to I-69. Some median concrete work to be done but striping is down in the future westbound lanes beyond I-69 to the west.
2:38:00 - around this point the driver is remarking about how nice the project will be when done
2:38:43 - APL covered at Mann Rd, will have 5 lanes continuing along the mainline here.
2:41:05 - Uncovered APL at I-70, will have 4 lanes pulling through on the mainline. INDOT has elected to reduce the inside shoulder width here similar to I-465 between I-65 and Emerson Ave. Temporary markings can also be viewed on traffic cameras showing the final configuration.

[silverback1065]

SR 37 is officially gone from 69 from martinsville to bloomington. this includes the bgs on the exits. i only saw 1 bgs that mentioned it on sb approaching 45/46

[RIndy]

Based upon my own driving through the I-465 construction zone on a regular basis, I see no reason why westbound I-465 can't be open by Thanksgiving with almost all work on that stuff finished. Maybe even sooner than that. They are working at a great speed in that construction zone and I've been generally impressed with it.

Back to I-69 in general. I got the chance to head down to Evansville yesterday and saw that signage in the Evansville area has indeed been updated to include a northbound control city for Indianapolis along I-69. I know it's been mentioned here already but I haven't seen any pictures of that so I thought I'd take some and share them here.

The first picture is along eastbound I-64 approaching I-69. I'm not sure why the SR 57 portion of the signage had to be done the way it was done but you can see Indy on the signs. Also, only Evansville is on the southbound sign with no mention of Henderson. It appeared that there was still both Evansville and Henderson on the westbound I-64 signage.


The next picture is along US 41 north at the start of I-69. This would mark the furthest south that Indianapolis is mentioned in southwest Indiana. Also, due to the spacing of signage along US 41 approaching I-69, there is a I-69 north Indianapolis sign technically on the Kentucky side of the border.

Its a shame that Kentucky won't have Evansville mention in Kentucky or in Henderson. Indiana did one or two places mentions Henderson. Seems Kentucky uses Henderson as control city going north while Indiana uses Evansville going south. Now when the new Ohio River bridge is finish, will it stay that way or what?

This picture is along the westbound lanes of the Lloyd Expressway at I-69. I was also curious by the new intersection with Epworth Road. Going west, having I-69 south for Evansville makes sense if your destination is Downtown and you don't want to mess with the Lloyd, but it does seem weird going east to see Evansville as well. It seems that even heading east OUT of Evansville, I-69 south still directs you to Evansville.


Looking east on Morgan Avenue at I-69. This is now the standard signage for northbound I-69 with Indianapolis as a control city. From what I saw, all interchanges along I-69 up to Bloomington have now been changed with Indianapolis finally added to the signs.


A new mileage sign along I-69 north near the I-64 interchange. This appears to be the first place where the distance to Indianapolis is signed in the Evansville area. The signs seem to feature the next highway, the secondary control city (Washington and then Bloomington) and Indianapolis on them.


As of this moment, I only saw these mileage signs along I-69 in Gibson County, up to SR 64. So I think they're still being updated elsewhere. There a couple of (what I presume) as temporary mileage signs further up on the highway.

Finally, here at the I-64 interchange we now get a pull-through for I-69 north to Indianapolis.


So there we have it. In the coming months we'll see final signage for Evansville in Indianapolis and now we have signage for Indianapolis in Evansville. Also, it was great to get on I-69 in Evansville and drive all the way to I-465 without any stoppage (other than a fuel break at least.)

On a final note, there was road construction on the part of I-69 in the Evansville area between Covert Avenue and US 41. I presume this has to do with the upcoming interchange with the new I-69 bridge over the Ohio River.

[ITB]

Earlier today, BigRigSteve of BigRigTravels drove I-69 southbound from the I-465/I-70 interchange on the eastside of Indianapolis down to Washington, Indiana, in Daviess County.

The trip started in Greenfield, with a brief detour east to the Love's truck stop in Knightstown, before heading west on I-70 to I-465. Interesting drive through the work zone on I-465, which was funneled down to one lane for what appeared to be concrete patching work. Instead of going through the I-69/I-465 interchange, he exited at Harding Street to get a truck wash. He then took Harding Street south to Epler Avenue, which took him to I-69 southbound.

Steve has upgraded his broadcast's telemetry, which now provides precise location, as well as compass direction and temperature.

[Moose]

SR 37 is officially gone from 69 from martinsville to bloomington. this includes the bgs on the exits. i only saw 1 bgs that mentioned it on sb approaching 45/46

Some limited "Follow this to get to 37" signage will remain it seems.
NB on I-69 approaching 465 on the right is a sign that directs you to go east to get to 37. I forget the exact wording.

[abqtraveler]

SR 37 is officially gone from 69 from martinsville to bloomington. this includes the bgs on the exits. i only saw 1 bgs that mentioned it on sb approaching 45/46

Some limited "Follow this to get to 37" signage will remain it seems.
NB on I-69 approaching 465 on the right is a sign that directs you to go east to get to 37. I forget the exact wording.

Simply some "TO 37" signs occasionally placed along I-69 would be helpful.

[TheCleanDemon]

Some limited "Follow this to get to 37" signage will remain it seems.
NB on I-69 approaching 465 on the right is a sign that directs you to go east to get to 37. I forget the exact wording.

Simply some "TO 37" signs occasionally placed along I-69 would be helpful.

Ever since INDOT removed all the state highways from inside 465 in Indy, it has been standard practice to have a sign saying follow 465 whichever direction to get to whichever highway. This is the 2013 version of the sign on old 37 before I-69 was there. 465 is multiplexed with several mostly unsigned state highways. Only 74 and now 69 are signed alongside 465.

[Life in Paradise]

SR 37 is officially gone from 69 from martinsville to bloomington. this includes the bgs on the exits. i only saw 1 bgs that mentioned it on sb approaching 45/46

Some limited "Follow this to get to 37" signage will remain it seems.
NB on I-69 approaching 465 on the right is a sign that directs you to go east to get to 37. I forget the exact wording.

I went through there yesterday.  I think that was put in there as a kind of friendly reminder during the finish construction time that you could get to all of the old restaurants and truck stops by taking the Epler Road exit (which I did yesterday).

[cjw2001]

SR 37 is officially gone from 69 from martinsville to bloomington. this includes the bgs on the exits. i only saw 1 bgs that mentioned it on sb approaching 45/46

Some limited "Follow this to get to 37" signage will remain it seems.
NB on I-69 approaching 465 on the right is a sign that directs you to go east to get to 37. I forget the exact wording.

I went through there yesterday.  I think that was put in there as a kind of friendly reminder during the finish construction time that you could get to all of the old restaurants and truck stops by taking the Epler Road exit (which I did yesterday).

INDOT just announced that the Epler and old SR 37 intersection will be closing for reconstruction starting Monday.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/INDOT/bulletins/3bf50f9

[Rick Powell]

INDOT just announced that the Epler and old SR 37 intersection will be closing for reconstruction starting Monday.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/INDOT/bulletins/3bf50f9

Would this closure possibly allow the full opening of I-69 NB and removing the lane shift south of Epler?

[cjw2001]

INDOT just announced that the Epler and old SR 37 intersection will be closing for reconstruction starting Monday.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/INDOT/bulletins/3bf50f9

Would this closure possibly allow the full opening of I-69 NB and removing the lane shift south of Epler?

This construction shouldn't have any impact on that at all since it is off mainline I 69.

[tdindy88]

While we're speaking about the construction going on. I was driving this way to work this morning and the westbound I-465 bridge over the White River is now open. From just west of Harding Street there are no more crossovers with work being done in the median now.

[westerninterloper]

A friend of mine got lost driving from Chicago to Bloomington this weekend, because he's an average Joe and doesn't follow road news, he drove past I-69 more than once looking for the SR 37 sign.   

[Rothman]

Need to repurpose the old "I-86 is now I-84" CT signage...

[ilpt4u]

A friend of mine got lost driving from Chicago to Bloomington this weekend, because he's an average Joe and doesn't follow road news, he drove past I-69 more than once looking for the SR 37 sign.   

Wouldn't hurt if 69SB had co-controls of Bloomington and Evansville, but isn't it signed merely Evansville? I feel like InDOT isn't usually big on interstate co-controls...even 80/94/Borman uses Chicago and Detroit - no Des Moines or Toledo thrown in there

[tdindy88]

A friend of mine got lost driving from Chicago to Bloomington this weekend, because he's an average Joe and doesn't follow road news, he drove past I-69 more than once looking for the SR 37 sign.   

Wouldn't hurt if 69SB had co-controls of Bloomington and Evansville, but isn't it signed merely Evansville? I feel like InDOT isn't usually big on interstate co-controls...even 80/94/Borman uses Chicago and Detroit - no Des Moines or Toledo thrown in there

At least Bloomington is signed on mileage signs consistently south of I-465. Ideally there should at least be an auxiliary sign approaching Exit 5 with Martinsville and Bloomington like there was with SR 37 at Exit 4. But I get the sense that INDOT won't do that since it is an interstate and not a typical highway. And Indiana's almost never done the co-control thing anyway but since the control cities that are signed are all very good that's never been an issue. Long story short: Bloomington isn't signed, but neither is Lafayette, Terre Haute or Muncie, it is what it is I guess.

Back to I-465's signage for I-69, I am not surprised to hear that someone got lost looking for I-69. Eastbound I-465 has one small digital sign announcing the exit, that's it. I know the exit's not completely all finished but if you're going to announce that I-69 is now connected, sign it better. They have these large signs with I-69 ready to go, but since they're one-arrow-per-lane signs and the final lane configuration isn't ready they apparently can't use them.

[SSR_317]

... it is what it is I guess.

...

You just used the "Official cliché of the State of Indiana", popularized by the drivers of the NTT INDYCAR Series in almost every media interview in the past 3-4 years.