Indiana Notes

[Great Lakes Roads]

Another year, and another section of I-94 will be undergoing some work, from SR 49 (exit 26) to US 421 (exit 34). It's a two-year project that will see concrete pavement restoration, asphalt resurfacing, and three bridge paintings. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained in each direction with a median crossover.

Oh, and speed cameras will be coming to a section of I-65 in Jasper County between MM 210-219, starting on March 23rd.

[NWI_Irish96]

Another year, and another section of I-94 will be undergoing some work, from SR 49 (exit 26) to US 421 (exit 34). It's a two-year project that will see concrete pavement restoration, asphalt resurfacing, and three bridge paintings. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained in each direction with a median crossover.

Oh, and speed cameras will be coming to a section of I-65 in Jasper County between MM 210-219, starting on March 23rd.

In my experience, that is the least likely place along I-65 to catch people speeding. Only 4 lanes and tons of trucks.

[I-55]

Another year, and another section of I-94 will be undergoing some work, from SR 49 (exit 26) to US 421 (exit 34). It's a two-year project that will see concrete pavement restoration, asphalt resurfacing, and three bridge paintings. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained in each direction with a median crossover.

Oh, and speed cameras will be coming to a section of I-65 in Jasper County between MM 210-219, starting on March 23rd.

In my experience, that is the least likely place along I-65 to catch people speeding. Only 4 lanes and tons of trucks.

In that case, what will likely end up happening is that traffic flow will remain similar to what it is now, less tickets will be issued, then the state will tout how there's less speeding in workzones and that the speed cameras are working as intended.

[ITB]

Construction of the new US 30/Flaugh Road interchange in Allen County is now underway.

[Revive 755]

In my experience, that is the least likely place along I-65 to catch people speeding. Only 4 lanes and tons of trucks.

Depends how low INDOT posts the work zone speed limit . . .

[NWI_Irish96]

In my experience, that is the least likely place along I-65 to catch people speeding. Only 4 lanes and tons of trucks.

Depends how low INDOT posts the work zone speed limit . . .

The work zone is on I-94. The speed cameras were a separate item.

[Revive 755]

Depends how low INDOT posts the work zone speed limit . . .

The work zone is on I-94. The speed cameras were a separate item.

I think if INDOT posts the I-65 worksite from MM 210 through MM 219 at 45 they would get a good number of tickets.

[ITB]

Selection of aerial views of road and bridge projects, plus other items of interest:


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
New overpass that will carry 226th Street over US 31 in Hamilton County.


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
Work zone of the future 266th Street bridge over US 31 in Hamilton County.


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
In Boone County, the massive Eli Lilly manufacturing campus and the work zone of the future US 52/I-65 diverging diamond interchange.


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
Closer look of the future interchange.


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
Also in Boone County, no time was wasted in starting construction on the enormous $10 billion Meta database campus.


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
Slightly closer look. The footprint of the database campus is around 1,500 acres.


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
Back to Hamilton County, the new McClure facility at the US 31/236th Street interchange. This is a relocation, as the previous McClure facility at the 216th Street/US 31 intersection was acquired by INDOT in the name of access control, which meant the sealing off of the intersection.


Imagery: Airbus/Maxar Technologies; Map data: Google
Site work at the future SkyLake Adventures theme park. Plans are to have the park up and running by this summer.


Image: Google/Google Streetview
Street-level view of access control work near the US 31/216th Street intersection in Hamilton County. Earth work at the SkyLake site is visible in the background.

[Revive 755]

Now I-74 gets a 21 mile work zone with speed cameras from IN 9 to IN 3 starting April 1.  https://www.safezonesin.com/copy-of-press-release-7

[ITB]

Opposition to the plan to toll I-70 is starting to develop. In an in-depth article published yesterday by the Indiana Capital Chronicle there was this:

     "That's double taxation, and that should not be allowed in the state of Indiana," said Mike
     Delph, a former Republican state senator who is running to reclaim his seat.

     He was a strong supporter of the 2006 privatization of the northern Indiana Toll Road — which
     delivered $3.8 billion to the state — but a foe of the 2021 push to toll Interstate 465 in
     central Indiana.

     The state's taxes on fuel are the differentiator for him, because the revenue funds public roads.

     "We are using the gas tax to fund this highway system, and now we're coming back and saying
     (that) we want to do tolling on top of that?" Delph said.

Governor Braun's viewpoint is given:

     "And so it's clear: tolling is only going to be considered if it makes sense," he said.

     Braun leaned supportive.

     "If you're one that wants to get rid of potholes on 70 and add lanes three across the state, it's
     not going to happen with our current road funding," he said. "Some would say, 'Well, find it in
     the budget.' ... But then you're talking about trade-offs on everything else."

The article begins with an overview of Indiana's tolling application:

     Indiana leaders say they're not making the same errors as other state applicants for a federal
     tolling program that has produced no toll roads in its nearly 30 years of existence.

     ........

     "So the mistake other states made ... They got the tolling waiver first and then got weak-kneed in
     the Legislature," Indiana Gov. Mike Braun told reporters after an unrelated event on Wednesday.
     "... We did it in the right order."

     U.S. law generally bans user fees on the federally funded Interstate Highway System — with
     exceptions. Indiana's application, submitted in September, seeks a waiver under the Interstate
     System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program.

     Since the pilot's launch in 1998, "several" states have earned provisional approvals, reserving
     one of three slots, per the Federal Highway Administration's 2018 solicitation for applications.

     "To date, however, no State has fully satisfied the ... program criteria," the document reads.

     Three states — Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia — held provisional approvals in 2015, when
     the program was amended. All have since relinquished their slots, according to the FHWA.

Read the entire article here.

[ITB]

Next week, March 26, INDOT will host a ribbon cutting celebration for the new Black River Welcome Center on I-64 in Posey County. The event will start at 10 a.m. CST (11 a.m. ET).

Read more about it here.

[thenetwork]

Today at midnight, the Indiana Toll Road (ITR) took over all of the interstates within Indiana.

The ITR has massive plans, as seen in this provided press release!

I-865 in NW Indianapolis is the the only interstate that will not be controlled by the ITR...

[dvferyance]

Next week, March 26, INDOT will host a ribbon cutting celebration for the new Black River Welcome Center on I-64 in Posey County. The event will start at 10 a.m. CST (11 a.m. ET).

Read more about it here.

I am sure this is an April Fools joke. The link to the press release leads to a youtube video of Rick Astley's Never going to Give You Up.

[ITB]

Modifications to Toll Road Concession Approved

In exchange for payments totalling $700 million, the state of Indiana will allow the Toll Road's private operator to increase tolls for all vehicles twice a year. Tolls will increase by at least 1.5% each time, or, by the rate of inflation if greater. Currently, tolls increase at least 2% once a year.

The money will be directed to a special fund to be used for transportation and infrastructure projects in seven counties: Porter, Elkhart, LaGrange, LaPorte, Steuben, St. Joseph, and Lake. 

Read more about it here.

[I-55]

Modifications to Toll Road Concession Approved

In exchange for payments totalling $700 million, the state of Indiana will allow the Toll Road's private operator to increase tolls for all vehicles twice a year. Tolls will increase by at least 1.5% each time, or, by the rate of inflation if greater. Currently, tolls increase at least 2% once a year.

The money will be directed to a special fund to be used for transportation and infrastructure projects in seven counties: Porter, Elkhart, LaGrange, LaPorte, Steuben, St. Joseph, and Lake. 

Read more about it here.

And yet no stipulations for open road tolling. Seems like a missed opportunity

[ITB]

Construction has kicked off to rehabilitate the historic Jewettsport Ford Bridge in Tippecanoe County. The bridge, which carries SR 225 over the Wabash River near Battle Creek, has been closed for three years. In 2021, the structure was stressed when semi-trucks used SR 225 as a detour when northbound I-65 was closed due to a crash involving a fatality. At the time, the bridge had a 12 ton weight limit.

The rehabilitation project is budgeted at $9.1 million. Construction is expected to complete in November of 2027.


Google Maps; Google Street View
Jewettsport Ford Bridge in Tippecanoe County; looking northwest.


Google Maps; Google Street View
The bridge, a riveted Pratt through truss, was built in 1912.

[Beltway]

U.S. law generally bans user fees on the federally funded Interstate Highway System — with
    exceptions. Indiana's application, submitted in September, seeks a waiver under the Interstate
    System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program.
    Since the pilot's launch in 1998, "several" states have earned provisional approvals, reserving
    one of three slots, per the Federal Highway Administration's 2018 solicitation for applications.
    "To date, however, no State has fully satisfied the ... program criteria," the document reads.
    Three states — Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia — held provisional approvals in 2015, when
    the program was amended. All have since relinquished their slots, according to the FHWA.

The Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program (ISRRPP) was created in 1998 to let up to three states toll an existing Interstate only if they could prove that full reconstruction was impossible without toll revenue. Over nearly two decades, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia each held one of the three slots.

All three conducted studies, public outreach, and preliminary planning, but none ever met the federal criteria. FHWA's own 2018 solicitation noted that "no State has fully satisfied the program criteria" since the pilot began.

The core problem was structural: to keep a slot, a state had to show that tolling was the only viable way to rebuild the corridor, withstand diversion and economic‑impact concerns, and secure political support at home. None could. Virginia abandoned tolling concepts for I‑95 and I‑81 after modeling showed unacceptable diversion and safety impacts. North Carolina reached similar conclusions. Missouri repeatedly explored tolling I‑70, but the legislature refused to authorize it.

Under the FAST Act's "use‑it‑or‑lose‑it" rule, states had three years (plus a possible extension) to produce a compliant project. All three eventually relinquished their slots, and FHWA formally reopened the program only after the last vacancy was cleared.

Indiana is eligible to apply because all three previous ISRRPP slots were vacated. Indiana's September application is simply the first new attempt after the reset.

[Rothman]

The schedule presented in the application itself is certainly enlightening.

[Beltway]

The I-70 lane-widening initiative is "20 years behind," in Democratic Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun's perspective. The interstate runs along the city's southern border.

I agree and that is one of the highways I use between here and Chicago.

I didn't realize until recently that the ISRRPP has really tight constraints that at least partially helped kill the other proposals. I thought they would make it flexible enough so that it could be utilized. We will see what happens with IN I-70.

Florida has widened all the Interstates that really need it without using tolls. I-95 all the way, I-4 all the way, and I-75 except thru Everglades that has lower volumes. And the few sections of I-10 that need it. With 25 million population I suppose they have the massive tax base needed to support that.

[I-55]

The I-70 lane-widening initiative is "20 years behind," in Democratic Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun's perspective. The interstate runs along the city's southern border.

I agree and that is one of the highways I use between here and Chicago.

I didn't realize until recently that the ISRRPP has really tight constraints that at least partially helped kill the other proposals. I thought they would make it flexible enough so that it could be utilized. We will see what happens with IN I-70.

Florida has widened all the Interstates that really need it without using tolls. I-95 all the way, I-4 all the way, and I-75 except thru Everglades that has lower volumes. And the few sections of I-10 that need it. With 25 million population I suppose they have the massive tax base needed to support that.

There are several factors that contribute to this difference:

As you mentioned, Florida has 4x as many residents than Indiana, and FDOT's budget exceeds INDOT's by the same proportion ($15.1 billion to $3.7 billion)

Florida has 1,422 miles of free interstate and 734 miles of toll roads. Indiana has 1,103 miles of free interstate (when you remove I-80 from I-94) and 156 miles of toll roads. Florida clearly uses toll funding better to their advantage and only maintains the national corridors plus I-4 with taxpayer dollars. Indiana would have to toll around 300 additional miles of interstate to meet the Florida ratio. Another way to look at is if Indiana had a dollar per mile to spend on free interstates, Florida would have $3.27 per mile. If INDOT wanted this to be equal, their budget would either have to be increased to $12 billion or over 700 miles of free interstate would have to be tolled.

Indiana spends more money on winter related maintenance operations and pavement does not last as long due to freeze/thaw cycles. Also, since winter eats away 4 months per year from construction, projects take longer to complete. Florida gets hurricanes but these typically don't cause nearly the damage to roadways that ice does.

Indiana has a significantly higher amount of freight truck traffic on its interstates than Florida. Trucks do significantly more wear on the pavement than passenger vehicles.

I know I used centerline miles as opposed to lane miles, but ultimately Indiana is going to be starting the same place Florida did and trying to end up closer to where Florida is now. It makes sense that Florida would have an easier time using taxpayer funds to upgrade their interstate system than Indiana given all of the factors that separate them.

[Beltway]

Florida does have a large and growing system of toll highways. Starting with the turnpike which itself functions like a mainline Interstate highway, it could be designated as I-89 or some number between I-75 and I-95.

Indiana's highway system carries unusually heavy freight volumes because the state sits at the intersection of multiple Tier‑1 national truck corridors -- I‑65, I‑70, I‑80/I‑90, and I‑94. These routes form the core of the National Highway Freight Network and handle some of the highest truck percentages in the country. The state's geography places it directly on the Midwest–East Coast freight axis, so long‑haul trucking flows naturally converge there. At the same time, Indiana is crossed by several Class I railroads feeding the Chicago gateway, the largest freight interchange point in North America. Rail absorbs a substantial share of long‑distance tonnage, but the remaining truck traffic is still intense enough to accelerate pavement wear.

Florida faces a different set of maintenance pressures. It avoids freeze–thaw cycles, but pays heavily for drainage, flooding, salt‑air corrosion, and year‑round construction. Its rail network is port‑oriented rather than a national through‑corridor, so a larger share of its freight moves by truck. Florida's rapid population growth, tourism traffic, and congestion further shorten pavement life and increase resurfacing frequency. Both states incur high maintenance costs, but for different structural reasons: Indiana because of concentrated national freight flows, and Florida because of water, climate, and nonstop traffic loads

Florida also faces a growing burden from aging bridges, even though its percentage of "poor" bridges is low. The 2025 ASCE Report Card notes that nearly 60% of Florida's bridges are in good condition and less than 3% are rated poor, but it also stresses that many systems remain aging, underfunded, and increasingly vulnerable to climate impacts. Extreme weather, salt exposure, and rapid population growth accelerate deterioration and push older structures toward major rehabilitation cycles.

Florida also carries a long‑term structural liability in its Intracoastal Waterway bridges. The state has well over a hundred ICW crossings, many of them mid‑century bascule spans now 40–70 years old and steadily wearing out under salt‑air corrosion and constant tidal exposure. Modern navigational expectations call for 65 feet of vertical clearance on new fixed bridges, which means every time one of these aging drawbridges reaches the end of its mechanical life, the replacement is not a simple like‑for‑like swap -- it becomes a major, high‑level bridge project with far higher costs, right‑of‑way impacts, and complex environmental permitting. This creates a continuous, expensive rehabilitation and upgrade cycle unique to Florida's coastal geography.

[The Ghostbuster]

Comparing Indiana to Florida? Apples to Oranges.

[ibthebigd]

I feel Kentucky is a better example than Florida.

Kentucky was proactive and widened I-65 thru the state years a go and I-75 just south of Lexington. Kentucky is working to get I-75 3 lanes all the way to Tennessee now.

Eventually I-64 will be 3 lanes from Louisville to east of Lexington.

[silverback1065]

I feel Kentucky is a better example than Florida.

Kentucky was proactive and widened I-65 thru the state years a go and I-75 just south of Lexington. Kentucky is working to get I-75 3 lanes all the way to Tennessee now.

Eventually I-64 will be 3 lanes from Louisville to east of Lexington.

true but those are all shorter distances to cover than what Indiana has, plus there are a lot of other projects that are almost as important to do too. I keep saying tolling is inevitable because of this.

[TheCleanDemon]

I feel Kentucky is a better example than Florida.

Kentucky was proactive and widened I-65 thru the state years a go and I-75 just south of Lexington. Kentucky is working to get I-75 3 lanes all the way to Tennessee now.

Eventually I-64 will be 3 lanes from Louisville to east of Lexington.

true but those are all shorter distances to cover than what Indiana has, plus there are a lot of other projects that are almost as important to do too. I keep saying tolling is inevitable because of this.

I-65 in Kentucky is only 20 miles shorter than I-70 in Indiana.