The Interstate 69 interchange at County Line Road opened earlier this summer.
ANDY BELL-BALTACI | DAILY JOURNAL
With each passing week, the stretch of road known as State Road 37 is starting to look more and more like Interstate 69.
The I-69 project is about 70% done in Johnson County. The interchange on County Line Road opened earlier this summer, concrete bridge beams have been put into place at a future Smith Valley Road interchange and traffic signals have been removed from the intersection of State Road 37 and State Road 144, Indiana Department of Transportation officials say.
The State Road 144 interchange is expected to open partially next week and be fully open by the end of the year. The Smith Valley Road interchange will likely open next year, INDOT officials say.
After this year, work on the mainline construction will move north, further into Marion County, for the highway’s connection with Interstate 465. Preconstruction work such as utility relocations and earth moving got underway on the southside this year.
The completion of I-69 will lead to a safer and quicker commute with fewer stoplights, Natalie Garrett, an INDOT spokesperson said in an email.
“Once complete, I-69 is expected to result in 1,300 fewer regional crashes each year,” she said. “Travel times between Martinsville and Indianapolis will be reduced by an average of 11 minutes once I-69 is complete. This adds up for a commuter who travels this stretch twice daily, five days per week. The I-69 Finish Line project is also expected to bring $4.1 billion in positive economic impact to the region over 20 years.”
Businesses and institutions along the future $2 billion interstate extension from Martinsville to Indianapolis have closed, relocated or lost business during construction since construction started two years ago. Some are optimistic the highway will be ultimately a good thing for business, but others aren’t as confident about their future.
John Piper, co-owner of Angel Animal Hospital, which is located near Bluffdale Road and State Road 37, said his business has seen a roughly 35% decrease in customers since construction began. The business isn’t close to the future interchange and isn’t as easy to access from the highway as it was before construction started, Piper said.
“You used to be able to go 70 miles per hour and turn into the parking lot, now it’s orange barrel hell, especially for senior citizens.” Piper said. “It’s been detrimental, to say the least, for impatient people and nervous people. The older you get, the less you want to sit in traffic.”
McCarty Mulch and Stone, a landscaping supply company, sits across the highway from the animal hospital. Owner Josh McCarty said his concerns have eased during construction.
“We were concerned going into the beginning phase of the highway construction, that it would drastically affect our business given the lack of access,” McCarty said in an email. “Have we lost some business? Yes, a little bit, and that’s to be expected. There’s some people that just don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of construction over here because it can be a mess at times. Our main issue was the frontage road was slow to get built and finished (in) the last 12 months. But now that the frontage road is open from Waverly to County Line, it’s certainly helping things out and relieving some of the pressure we were previously seeing.”
Angela Beals, the owner of Angela’s Groom Room, a pet grooming business just south of County Line Road, said she hasn’t noticed much of a difference in business, so far. She expects the strip mall her shop will experience further development once the highway is completed, which could, in turn, help her business.
“I think they built the roundabouts pretty much where it won’t be backed up too bad,” Beals said. “We’re set back a little, but I think eventually this will get built up like crazy, adding more businesses.”
Church officials are expecting the interchange at Smith Valley Road to help grow the congregation of Southland Community Church, said Steve Schellin, senior pastor.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Schellin said. “We will be within a 15-minute drive of half the population of Indianapolis. We will practically be on the exit of Smith Valley Road.”
Brad Keller, one of the owners of Bluff Creek Golf Course near State Road 144 and State Road 37, said he’s also expecting to reach a wider range of people.
“It’ll be a relief for people. We’ll get more customers because it’ll be a lot quicker to get here coming from Bloomington and Indianapolis,” Keller said. “I think it will have a positive impact.”
