A ‘J’ turn?: INDOT considers reduced conflict intersections for Taylorsville area

TAYLORSVILLE – Three significant reconfigurations along U.S. 31 between Bartholomew County Road 650N (Tannehill Road) and Interstate 65 are being recommended by a consulting group to the Indiana Department of Transportation.

The recommendations, presented during a public hearing last week in Taylorsville, include:

• Straighten out the exit ramp from northbound Interstate 65 to U.S. 31
• Install a median U-turn just south of Bear Lane, which would necessitate closing the current intersection of U.S. 31 and Bear Lane/Frontage Road.
• Construct a reduced conflict intersection (RCI) where the highway intersects with Tannehill Road.

Project manager Adam Burns told about 30 people attending the open house Wednesday at Taylorsville Elementary School that final project decisions will be made by the end of June, with all design work completed by the end of the summer.

An employee of the Indianapolis-based engineering consulting group of Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc., Burns said bids will be awarded this fall, with the entire $3.1 million project expected to be started and completed next year.

There are only four of reduced conflict intersection configurations being used in Indiana at this time.

Essentially, the configuration means motorists approaching divided highways from a side street are not allowed to make left turns or cross traffic. Instead, they are required to turn right onto the highway before making a U-turn at a designated median opening. These openings are frequently called J-turns.

While Bartholomew County Highway Engineer Danny Hollander said drivers will have to adapt as they did with roundabouts, he believes the safety statistics for reduced conflict intersections (RCI) speak for themselves.

The frequency of crashes at the four current RCI intersections have been reduced by 60 to 77% – and the number of injuries and fatalities by a significant 86%, according to INDOT statistics.

A six-year accident court shows the intersection of U.S. 31 and Bear Lane, located between Speedway and Burger King, is a high crash location where improvements are highly recommended. Although the Tannehill Road intersection doesn’t have as many collisions. the crashes that do occur there tend to cause injuries and fatalities, Burns said.

Part of the problem is the exit ramp from northbound Interstate 65 on to the highway at Taylorsville, the project manager said. It has a gradual curve that encourages higher speeds when vehicles merge onto U.S. 31, Burns said.

“Without a reason to slow down, several motorists maintain their interstate speed as they get onto the highway within a relatively developed commercial area,” Burns said. “They have less room to be able to safely merge onto the highway, causing issues and confusion.”

The high speeds also makes it very difficult for motorists trying to get back onto the highway from Bear Lane. As Burns explained, those speeds make it hard for drivers to determine how much time they have to get onto either the northbound or southbound lanes.

Another significant problem is the unusually wide median opening between the southbound and northbound lanes of U.S. 31 at Bear Lane is unusually wide. It is so wide that drivers of both small and large vehicles stack up side-by-side in the median, which results in confusion regarding who goes first onto the highway, Burns said.

While similar challenges are also at the highway’s intersection with Tannehill Road, the project manager said the skewed alignment at U.S. 31 and Tannehill Road is confusing.

“We have high speeds from the south along U.S. 31, as well as vehicles coming off the interstate that are slowing down,” Burns said. “Those two speed differentials add to driver confusion, making it difficult at times to make decisions on when to make their movements.”

There’s only one option regarding the gradually curved exit ramp off northbound I-65, Burns said. Straighten it out.

By having the ability to stop vehicles at the end of the exit ramp, drivers will have time to make better decisions on when to get onto the highway, the project director said.

A longer acceleration lane that allows motorists to come up to speed before they merge with the highway will be installed. In addition, drivers will receive more time and distance to make their decisions as they approach a median U-turn to get onto the northbound lanes and Bear Lane, he said.

Several options were looked at regarding the intersection at Tannehill Road. One was a dual-lane roundabout that Burns said would lower crashes by 24%. However, the roundabout would cost $6.2 million to construct, as well as require the purchase of two-and-a-half acres of right of way from neighboring landowners, he estimated.

Extra signage and additional traffic signals were also considered, but this low-cost option would only have a slight impact on the number and severity of crashes, Burns explained.

So consulting engineers at Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc. have decided to recommend a RCI configuration to state transportation officials at a cost less than half of what it would take to build a roundabout, he said.

There was concern whether semi tractor-trailers and other large trucks can made it through the J-turns, but INDOT personnel presented a video of several large vehicles, including semis and a school bus, making the 180-degree turns at a northwest Indiana intersections without any problem.

But to give the drivers of large vehicles the confidence they need to use the new configuration, Burns said crews will also install what he called “cheating blisters” on the outside of J-turn openings that provide more than enough room for the turns.

Among those attending the meeting was State Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, who said a number of citizens concerned about closing the current median break at Bear Lane have contacted him.

”Citizens find a roundabout more palatable,” Lauer said. “We also found out it would be the safest option, statistically speaking.”

Rep. Greg Pence, R-Columbus, who owns the retail outlet at the southwest corner of U.S. 31 and Tannehill Road, said he was most interested that the J-turns have proper signs.

Taylorsville resident Allen Pendleton said he was concerned about southbound semis trying to make a U-turn to get to the Speedway convenience store for fuel.

“They are going to have to cross two lanes of traffic on their blindside,” Pendleton said. “Traffic coming from the south tends to fly through there, so it’s going to get awfully congested.“

Story by Mark Webber | The (Columbus) Republic