Truck traffic is restricted until mid-September on three more county roads in east Needham Township.
Currently, six roads are temporarily restricted due to the Indiana Department of Transportation’s State Road 44 project.
The Johnson County Board of Commissioners OK’d an ordinance that bans semi-truck traffic on several roads south of the project area. Those roads are: County Road 700 East, between State Road 44 and Greensburg Road; Greensburg Road, between County Road 700 East and County Road 800 East; and County Road 800 East, between Greensburg Road and Shelby County Road 500 South.
The commissioners had already banned traffic on several roads north of the project area. Those roads are: County Road 800 East, between State Road 44 and Range Road; County Road 350 North, between County Road 700 East and the Shelby County Line; and County Road 700 East, between County Road 350 North and County Road 100 North.
Both of the restrictions apply to large truck traffic, but do not apply to buses less than 45 feet long, construction vehicles, maintenance of county roads or trucks making local deliveries, pick-ups or service calls.
The Johnson County Highway Department will put up signs at the start of the restricted areas, as well as warning signs leading to it. The bans take effect once the signs are up, said Luke Mastin, Johnson County highway director.
The ban will continue until sunset Sept. 17, after construction wraps up on State Road 44. An INDOT contractor is working on the State Road 44 bridge over the Sugar Creek Overflow, between County Road 700 East and Sugar Creek Road in Franklin.
The bridge closed two weeks ago and is expected to be closed for 60 days, according to an INDOT news release.
The official detour route follows Interstates 65, 465 and 74.
“Those are the only roads fit to handle that truck traffic,” Mastin said.
Drivers headed toward Franklin are tempted to try county roads instead. The ban is in place due to curves on the roads that are too sharp for semis to handle. There is also a culvert with a 10-ton weight limit on County Road 700 East, he said.
Commissioner Ron West expressed concerns last week about the additional bans, saying a truck driver’s job is already tough enough. He also asked what they’re supposed to do if they reach a road their trucks are banned on but can’t turn around.
“If they’ve reached those intersections, then they’ve bypassed signage,” Mastin said. “You’d have to be driving with your eyes closed.”
The State Road 44 project is part of a $6 million asphalt resurfacing and roadway reconstruction project to repave State Road 44 between Franklin and Shelbyville. Roadway reconstruction at the I-65 interchange and the recently installed traffic signals are also part of the project.
