INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Transportation marked a significant milestone in the I-69 Finish Line project.
Last week, crews performed the milestone work at Bluff Creek just south of the State Road 144 interchange, setting beams and pouring the deck on the last of 20 bridges in the southern section of the project in Morgan and Johnson counties.
The I-69 Finish Line project includes 39 new bridges, while 35 existing bridges are being upgraded or replaced, INDOT said.
The structure will carry the future northbound I-69 lanes over Bluff Creek, according to INDOT. You can learn more about the process here.
Keith Senteney lives near the project in Johnson County and said he’s starting to see the benefits of the change.
”It’s definitely smoothed out quite a bit,” Senteney said. “I would say traffic flow has improved through the area.”
Senteney said the project really shows it’s improvements on a trip south.
”During the IU games and stuff, I think it helps a whole lot,” he said. “Before even getting through Martinsville and stuff was a hassle.”
U.S. 31 ramp closure
The northbound U.S. 31 ramp to eastbound I-465 is scheduled to close starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, as crews perform noise barrier work. The closure is expected to last until 5 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 2.
INDOT expects up to four additional weekend closures for the ramp in the months to come.
Belmont, Banta closures
On Sunday, INDOT closed Belmont Avenue from Banta Road south to the east entrance of the Lighthouse Landing apartments for paving work. That closure is expected to last about three weeks.
On Oct. 1, Banta Road will close east and west of State Road 37 to lower the road under the future I-69 bridge. The closure is expected to last through mid-October.
On the west side of SR 37, the detour will follow Banta Road to Tibbs Avenue and Southport Road. On the east side of SR 37, drivers should use Harding Street to Southport Road.
The work schedule is dependent on the weather.
Ramp closure, lane restrictions
The eastbound ramp from Mann Road to I-465 is expected to remain closed through at least the end of October as crews build I-465 retaining walls along Thompson Road.
Drivers may also encounter some nighttime single-lane closures on I-465 between Kentucky Avenue and US 31 next week. Expected to span a mile or less at a time, the restrictions will allow crews to do maintenance and structure installation work.
I-69 updates
The southbound ramps to and from Smith Valley Road are open, although there remains no direct access to or from northbound SR 37 from Smith Valley Road. INDOT expects the northbound ramps to open in “late 2023.”
The northbound detour is Bluffdale Road between Smith Valley Road and County Line Road.
Northbound SR 37 will have a single lane under the SR 144 bridge until traffic switches to the proper lanes in early November.
Kyleigh Cramer with INDOT said the project is still on track to be open to traffic by the end of 2024.
