By Dan Domsic
Motorists traveling I-69 will see a 90-day closure on the southbound side of the thoroughfare as soon as this June.
The closure in question is the ramp from southbound I-69 to 116th Street, at Exit 205.
According to Nathan Riggs, an INDOT spokesman, the contractor has the closure scheduled for “early summer,” but the actual closure date is dictated by construction progress.
He said advanced notice will be given to the public before the ramp closure.
The detour for southbound motorists trying to exit at 116th Street will be to exit at 96th Street and then turn around and swing back north to access the northbound ramp at Exit 205.
The new configuration of the exit ramp would eliminate commuters having to weave, according to Jeremy Richardson, a project designer with United Consulting Engineers and Architects.
It was one piece of the traffic puzzle talked about when INDOT held a public information open house last Tuesday, detailing Operation Indy Commute plans pertinent to I-69, Ind. 37 and the drivers that use them.
INDOT’s presentation came on the heels of announcing a contract award for the mainline project that adds travel lanes to the interstate that run from 116th Street to I-465.
Rieth-Riley Construction Co. is the contractor tasked with that part of the project, an $11-million undertaking.
Part of the contract also includes “auxiliary lanes to connect interchange ramps” from 82nd, 96th and 116th streets.
Richardson said the auxiliary lanes are extensions to the exit and entrance ramps at each street.
At the open house, Riggs said the contractor responsible for northbound improvements on I-69 was unable to meet a deadline last year, but the bridge deck for the Ind. 37 flyover was poured.
He said completion on the northbound interchange is scheduled for this spring.
According to Riggs, work on the southbound side of Exit 205 was originally not going to occur until the northbound construction was finished, but the contractor has decided to begin southbound work on or after March 15.
For more information on changes to I-69 and Ind. 37, visit www.in.gov/indot/.