New information about final Interstate 69 design plans and opportunities for input will be shared with area residents next week, including changes at two of Johnson County’s three interchanges.
Three more public meetings are scheduled to discuss those updated plans, including design changes to County Road 144 and Smith Valley Road interchanges, and answer questions from residents about the final leg of I-69 construction, which will run through Johnson County on its way from Martinsville to Indianapolis. A team of Indiana Department of Transportation employees and engineers will present those changes and answer questions during the meetings.
One of the three information sessions is 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Center Grove High School auditorium, according to an INDOT news release. Two other meetings are planned next week in Martinsville and Indianapolis. The sessions will last about two hours each and include a presentation at 6 p.m., and an open house afterward.
INDOT organized the meetings to provide updates on the sixth and final section of the interstate, which is being built in phases from Evansville to Indianapolis, and will follow the State Road 37 route through the west side of the county. Construction of that final stretch is expected to begin next year, including in parts of Johnson County, and wrap up in 2024, about three years ahead of schedule, Gov. Eric Holcomb said during a campaign stop in July in Franklin.
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“Especially on large projects such as this one, we want to be transparent about our plans and make the public aware so they can prepare to take other routes. There will be a large amount of construction as we transform State Road 37 into I-69,” said Natalie Garrett, an INDOT spokesperson.
Those who attend the meetings will learn more about I-69’s final leg, review the expected construction schedule and hear about design changes made since the latest environmental impact statement was approved in February 2018. They will also learn how they can participate in an online aesthetics survey related to pedestrian railings and light fixtures at overpasses and interchanges up and down the I-69 corridor, the news release said.
In Johnson County, INDOT spent 2019 acquiring right-of-ways of more than 200 parcels the highway will impact. The team’s deadline to complete that portion of the project is June 2020.
"Because of some design refinements, the initial parcel number for all of Section 6 dropped to 650 from around 850," Garrett said. "These refinements allowed us to adjust some right-of-way lines to avoid property impacts."
All active Johnson County parcels are in the process of being acquired or have already been purchased, she said.
Crews were expected to start construction on the Martinsville and Morgan County leg of the $1.5 billion highway project this year, and will likely be working in Johnson County by 2021, state workers have said.
The big question on the table as construction looms is how neighborhoods in Bargersville and the Center Grove area are going to develop around the new interstate. Those decisions, and most of the costs associated with it, are up to them.
While the state has complete control of the interstate, county officials and residents will make decisions regarding development around it.
The county’s Board of Zoning Appeals, Plan Commission and, ultimately, Board of Commissioners will have final say.
Interstate 69 will follow the path of State Road 37 through Johnson County, with interchanges at State Road 144, near Bargersville, Smith Valley Road and County Line Road, in White River Township.
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The Indiana Department of Transportation will host a series of public meetings next week to provide updates on the sixth and final section of Interstate 69 construction between Evansville and Indianapolis.
Attendees will learn more about I-69 Section 6, review the expected construction schedule and hear about design refinements made since the Final Environmental Impact Statement was approved in February 2018. Attendees will also learn how they can participate in an online aesthetics survey related to pedestrian railings and light fixtures at specific overpasses and interchanges:
5:30 p.m. Monday, Martinsville High School cafeteria, 1360 E. Gray St, Martinsville;
5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Center Grove High School auditorium, 2717 S. Morgantown Rd, Greenwood;
5:30 p.m. Oct. 24, Perry Meridian High School auditorium, 401 W. Meridian School Rd, Indianapolis.
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