Commuters who use U.S. 31 between Franklin and Taylorsville should be prepared for construction in the coming months.
A major reconstruction project on U.S. 31 will begin this week in Franklin, and a second portion of construction from I-65 at Taylorsville in Bartholomew County to the intersection of U.S. 252 south of Amity will begin later this summer.
The $8.4 million resurfacing project has an official completion date of Nov. 20, according to a news release from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The Franklin section stretches from Young’s Creek Bridge to Westview Drive/Main Street. For this section, crews from Dave O’Mara Contractor Inc. plan to begin with saw-cutting operations Thursday evening, followed by patching work next week, according to INDOT.
To minimize traffic impact, the work in Franklin will take place at night, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., said Natalie Garrett, an INDOT spokesperson. Crews will close the road lane by lane, allowing traffic to flow around the closure, she said.
This leg of the project is expected to be completed by the end of July, weather permitting, INDOT said.
The southern leg of the project will begin later this summer and will wrap up in October, according to INDOT. This work will begin on U.S. 31 at I-65 in Taylorsville and work its way north to S.R. 252, south of Amity, INDOT said.
The southern leg of the project is not required by contract to be completed at night, so some construction may take place during the day, Garrett said.
The road will not be closed, so no detour is required for this construction project, Garrett said. INDOT asks drivers to take it slow and watch for workers and flaggers in the project areas, she said.
The project is part of the state’s Next Level Roads initiative. Next Level Roads, announced by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2017, allocates more than $60 billion to construction and maintenance projects over the next 20 years to maintain state highways and finish major projects such as this one, INDOT said.
