Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

[TheCleanDemon]

Of course any interstate will bring sprawl, what won't I-69 be different? Indy is a big city with a large metro area. Of course developers will take advantage of the I-69 corridor now it's being extended to build more mixed use developments.

Look at Muncie to the Northeast. I-69 fueled that city's growth providing a direct link to Indy and its closest suburbs. The Southwest side ain't any different.

As a more recent example, Fishers has grown by 1,000% since 1990 from less than 10,000 to around 100,000. Noblesville is up 400% in the same timespan, both fueled by access to Interstate 69. Anderson and Muncie have been in slow-steady decline, though I think Anderson will recover when Indy sprawl covers all the land between SR 37 and Anderson.

Shelbyville has been on 74 for what, 50 years(?), and has never experienced a population explosion. If I-69 was fueling growth in Fishers, why didn't Fishers explode in 1971 when the highway was built?

No doubt, Fishers and Noblesville benefit from I-69 but their growth has a lot more to do with being adjacent to the more populated and affluent part of Marion County.

[Rick Powell]

Shelbyville has been on 74 for what, 50 years(?), and has never experienced a population explosion. If I-69 was fueling growth in Fishers, why didn't Fishers explode in 1971 when the highway was built?

No doubt, Fishers and Noblesville benefit from I-69 but their growth has a lot more to do with being adjacent to the more populated and affluent part of Marion County.

One of my favorite examples of "no sprawl" interchanges are Exits 97 and 105 on I-80 in IL. They are 67 and 75 miles from downtown Chicago but no services are available at either interchange and there are just a few scattered buildings nearby. No water or sewer lines have been extended to either location, which might be some of the reason neither has taken off in the 64 years of their existence.

[mgk920]

Even he fact that there are no interchanges on US 10 between WI 76 and US 45 west of the Appleton, WI area.  This was purposely laid out as such in the late 1990s (opened in 2003) to prevent premature development of that area.

Mike

[ITB]

Yesterday, I motored to Indy for another look-see and to meet BigRigSteve of BigRigTravels at the Flying J truck stop near the Harding Street/I-465 interchange. Had a very nice chat with Steve. He was hanging out at the truck stop after making a delivery in Mooresville. Steve's been doing live broadcasts of his travels for 17 years. Several others do likewise now but Steve was a pioneer. And as technology advanced, so did his broadcasts. He now broadcasts with Starlink and has a very nice newly redesigned webpage.

Before we go to the pictures, a short update of the status of construction is in order. Although the weather has been less than ideal so far in May, construction has been steadily progressing. In many instances, crews have been working nights, whether on bridges, paving, or earthwork. While work is underway throughout the project area, it appears the focus right now is on paving and completing the eastbound lanes of I-465 between the Mann Road overpass and the new eastbound bridge over Bluff Road. When that work finishes, probably in two or three weeks, westbound traffic will be shifted to the new pavement.

Bear in mind, please, I am in not associated with the project in any way. I just snap pictures. Without further adieu, to the pictures. Photos were taken Wednesday, May 15, 2024.


On the southwest side of Indianapolis, looking east toward I-465 from the Mann Road overpass. In this vicinity, the eastbound travel lanes have been split to allow work to proceed on the last remaining unpaved strip of eastbound roadway. The thick median barrier wall was slipformed paved last week and the week prior.


Zoomed in shot as a shower was passing through.


Looking east toward I-465 from Thompson Road about a half mile east of the Mann Road overpass.


Turning around, the view looking west.


Long range perspective from the Mann Road overpass.


Closer look.


Another zoomed in shot. The shower was moving in my direction, so I packed up quickly and hustled off the overpass.


Again, looking east.

As I've mentioned before, the construction to add lanes to I-465 and the building of the I-69/I-465 interchange go hand in hand. The I-69 interchange won't be fully opened to traffic until the new, widened westbound I-465 roadway between I-65 and I-70 completes. And that's at least six months away. I hedge a little there and say "fully" because it's possible, I guess, the I-465E to I-69S movement could be opened before the other movements do. We'll see.

 

[westerninterloper]

Of course any interstate will bring sprawl, what won't I-69 be different? Indy is a big city with a large metro area. Of course developers will take advantage of the I-69 corridor now it's being extended to build more mixed use developments.

Look at Muncie to the Northeast. I-69 fueled that city's growth providing a direct link to Indy and its closest suburbs. The Southwest side ain't any different.

As a more recent example, Fishers has grown by 1,000% since 1990 from less than 10,000 to around 100,000. Noblesville is up 400% in the same timespan, both fueled by access to Interstate 69. Anderson and Muncie have been in slow-steady decline, though I think Anderson will recover when Indy sprawl covers all the land between SR 37 and Anderson.

Shelbyville has been on 74 for what, 50 years(?), and has never experienced a population explosion. If I-69 was fueling growth in Fishers, why didn't Fishers explode in 1971 when the highway was built?

No doubt, Fishers and Noblesville benefit from I-69 but their growth has a lot more to do with being adjacent to the more populated and affluent part of Marion County.

I worked on a research project in Shelbyville about 25 years ago, and interviewed a lot of local leaders - all of them were talking about how to draw growth their direction; they lamented how the town's doctors all lived in Carmel, and the town had a "hick" reputation; no high-end housing being built there. We examined the community's reception to new Hispanic residents, it was quite eye-opening, but as I've learned over the years, nothing particularly unique to that town.