Planning is underway for a major overhaul of the I-465/U.S. 31 interchange.
INDOT hosted an informational meeting Sept. 26 in Carmel to introduce the Level Up 31 project — a plan to address regional growth and traffic congestion that affects efficiency at the Meridian Street/U.S. 31 interchange.
INDOT officials said adjustments to the interchange are a direct result of growth in Hamilton County. Since 2015, the population of Carmel has increased nearly 13 percent, while the population of Westfield has exploded by nearly 60 percent — representing more than 20,000 new residents. That growth has rendered previous future traffic estimations moot. In 2015, INDOT estimated that by 2035, traffic counts though the interchange would total 92,930 vehicles per day. However, as of 2023, that daily count had already exceeded 83,000.
The new forecast predicts 112,119 vehicles per day by next year, and 155,520 by 2045.
One of the biggest proposed changes to the interchange is access to 106th Street. Rather than using the ramps onto northbound U.S. 31, travelers on I-465 would exit the interstate then reenter U.S. 31 via Meridian.
“What we’re proposing is, you would actually come down to the traffic signals (on Meridian) and access that way,” said Jason Littleton, roadway engineer with WSP, the professional services firm working with INDOT on planning. “There will be two lanes west to north, two lanes east to north, and then three lanes of Meridian. The 106th Street traffic will go under (I-465) and will already be on the right side to exit.”
Joe Mattick of Carmel attended the meeting specifically to see the proposed changes to the 106th Street exit.
“Based on what they’re saying, for the people like us who want to exit onto 106th, this does sound better,” Mattick said. “We’d have to stop at a light (but) on the current ramp you have to get across traffic and there’s a concrete wall right there that you can’t see around to see if any traffic is coming. It’s very difficult, there’s a very short merge area once you get past that wall. So, it’s not a good situation now but this looks like it will be better. I always think, ‘Let’s wait and see.’ But I’m optimistic.”
Littleton said the exit ramp and flyover ramp from I-465 will each be widened to two lanes. However, fixing the backups caused by cars queuing into the U.S. 31 exit is not part of the Level Up 31 planning. That falls under the I-465 Northwest Improvements Project, which kicked off in 2022 and aims to make improvements along the I-465 mainline from 86th Street to U.S. 31, including at the interchanges with I-865, Michigan Road and U.S. 31/Meridian.
Planning for that project has been slowed while the U.S. 31/Meridian interchange is adjusted.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2025. Learn more about the project at levelup31.com.