By James Feichtner

On the evening of Sept. 10, dozens gathered in Fishers City Hall Auditorium to hear the Indiana Department of Transportation’s proposal for a new interchange at 106th Street and Interstate 69 in Fishers. The project is estimated to cost $34 million with the city of Fishers contributing 28 percent and Hamilton Co. contributing 6 percent, respectively.

“This is a heavily locally funded project. We have the City of Fishers and Hamilton County, so we’ve got about $12 million of their own money in this,” Jeremy Richardson, design consultant for INDOT, said. “This is an important project for both Hamilton County and the City of Fishers.”

The purpose of the interchange is to reduce congestion at current I-69 intersections located at 96th and 116th streets, as well as improve traffic safety by reducing crashes in the area and allowing direct access to 106th Street from I-69.

“There [are]a lot of recurring crashes due to congestion on I-69, so it’s going to help with that congestion, help with that traffic safety aspect,” Richardson said. “One of the most important points is direct access to the 106th Street area.”

INDOT’s proposed intersection would consist of two, two-lane, oval shaped roundabouts on 106th Street over I-69 with ramps going in both directions of the interstate. The bridge at 106th Street would be demolished and replaced with two separate two-lane bridges carrying one-way traffic.

“One of things that makes the roundabout a good solution to this area…we’ve got roundabouts at Crosspointe [Boulevard], and we’ve got roundabouts at Hazel Dell (Parkway) and 106th Street,” Richardson said. “It matches the character of the roadway already. When we compare those seconds [of average delay]across the table for the other types of interchanges, we’re looking at an interchange that functions very well with travel demand that has been forecasted.”

If approved, construction would begin in April and last until the spring of 2017. During that time, traffic at 106th Street would be detoured to 96th Street.

“We are building two bridges as part of this and we’ll have to tear down the old bridge,” Richardson said. “The 106th Street bridge crossing I-69 will be closing for the duration of construction. The duration of construction is from June 2016 to April 2017. The detour for that closure will be taking 96th and Lantern Road. During construction we are able to maintain all lanes on I-69 during the day. We will reduce the speed limit as we go through the work zone, but all lanes will be available at all times. We will have nighttime lane closures.”

While INDOT spokespeople assured the auditorium the construction would be beneficial, the majority of the crowd voiced concerns against the project. Audience members were given the opportunity to comment about what would happen to the communities on 106th Street in the area.

“I’ve seen nothing that justifies the impact that it’s going to have on houses on these streets,” one Fishers resident said. “We already can’t get out of our driveways. Tonight, to get here; seven minutes I had to wait to get out of my driveway. We’re going to put another thousand cars on that road? Where are we going to put them?”

Others sited that previous projects should be revisited before the 106th overlay be discussed, such as revisions to 96th and 116th Streets.

“When the intersections at 116th and 96th were being modified they had the chance to address the congestion issues and they failed to do so,” one resident said. “If we have $34 million between the two of you, why didn’t you do those two intersections properly? Now they are trying to offload this onto the residents of 106th.”

Comments on the proposed project may be sent to INDOT at [email protected].