Interstate 69 construction inches closer to Johnson County every day.
Local access roads are currently under construction in Morgan County in preparation for the new interstate to connect Evansville to Indianapolis. I-69 will follow the path of State Road 37 from Martinsville to State Road 144 in Bargersville and Smith Valley Road in White River Township, before taking the interstate into Indianapolis past County Line Road, Southport Road and Epler Avenue to its terminus at I-465 in Indianapolis.
I-69 has already been completed from Martinsville to Evansville, but the final $1.5 billion, 26-mile stretch between Martinsville and Indianapolis is the most expensive leg, said Natalie Garrett, an Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) spokesperson.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryLocal access construction is expected to begin in Johnson and Marion counties next year, while construction on the interstate itself will begin in Martinsville, Garrett said.
The full project is expected to be complete by 2024, INDOT estimates.
INDOT completed its first work for I-69 in Johnson County last month, which included adding an additional turn lane and updating traffic signals at the intersection of SR 144 and SR 37, to improve traffic flow for next year’s SR 37 closure in Martinsville, Garrett said.
Land acquisition is nearly complete for the Johnson County portion of the project. In total, INDOT purchased 112 parcels of land in Johnson County, with an appraised value of nearly $19 million, according to INDOT data.
The construction will impact several local roads in Johnson County, including Banta Road, Travis Road, Stones Crossing Road, Olive Branch Road, Fairview Road and County Line Road. Each of these will either dead-end or be rerouted into a new frontage road to run along the east and west side of the interstate, according to INDOT project documents.
Because the interstate plan takes County Line Road north into Indianapolis to join I-69, the county was not involved in planning this part of the project, county highway director Luke Mastin said. However, the county and the town of Bargersville has been closely involved in planning the interchanges at SR 144 and Smith Valley Road, said Mastin and Julie Young, Bargersville’s town manager.
INDOT is shouldering all of the initial costs to reroute the local roads, but local officials are to assume maintenance responsibilities for the new structures in the local jurisdiction, Mastin said.
The county will assume maintenance of a western frontage road that will run from SR 144 to the county line at Marion County along the entirety of I-69 and an eastern frontage road will route local traffic to the new interchanges, Mastin said.
The I-69 project will change the shape of western Johnson County forever, but it is hoped to bring a new beginning. Local government officials have been working closely with INDOT to make sure the interchanges are conducive to the type of growth their communities want to see, said Mastin and Young.
The Johnson County Commissioners and Bargersville Town Council sent letters of support to INDOT last week, signaling their approval of local interchange designs ahead of the upcoming bidding process. The letters are the first of a few local steps that will take place in the next few weeks, Mastin said.
The design of the nearly identical interchanges came out of community discussions that were held in late 2019, Mastin said.
Renderings of the interchanges are not ready to be released to the public, but local officials have approved the preliminary design.
Both interchange overpasses will feature a pattern of concrete and brick-stamped concrete, for a more upscale look without the cost of masonry, Mastin said. Interrupting the pattern, the street name will be printed in black letters in the center of the overpass, the rendering indicates.
Approaches to the interchanges will include roundabouts, brick-like decorations and multi-use paths to connect future development at the interchanges to the existing community, the renderings indicate.
Connectivity from one side of the interstate to the other via pedestrian paths was something that both communities and local officials wanted to make sure was in the project, Mastin said.
“We know that [development] is going to come so we want to make sure there is plenty of connectivity from one side of the interstate to another. We didn’t want to split it off from other parts of White River Township, especially those that will see development,” Mastin said.
Other aesthetic features include three-tiered planters with a brick-like look emblazoned, respectively with “Bargersville” and “Johnson County” on the top tier in black letters, the rendering shows. Planters will include a variety of vegetation including bushes, flowers and trees.
The county and Bargersville will learn more about the cost to maintain local access roads and aesthetic improvements to overpasses next week when INDOT brings forward a maintenance plan, Mastin said.
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For more information on I-69 construction progress, visit i69finishline.com. The public may view maps of the project area, construction timelines, photos and sign up for updates via an email newsletter.
Additional questions may be directed to the project team at 855-463-6848 or sent via email through indot4u.com.
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