The road design and traffic light locations are shown for the Hospital Road and Jefferson Street intersections with U.S. 31 intersections in Franklin.
Daily Journal File Photo
The $50 million U.S. 31 corridor improvement project set for Franklin has been delayed once again.
It was delayed this time due to issues acquiring the right of way necessary for construction, officials with Indiana Department of Transportation said.
Six years of planning has gone into reimagining five miles of the heavily trafficked stretch of road, but now the project will not be finished this decade.
“The US 31 corridor improvement project has experienced delays with acquiring right of way necessary for construction,” Sidney Nierman, public relations director of INDOT Southeast, said. “The project is currently scheduled to let to contractors in winter 2024, with (the) start of construction currently scheduled for 2025 and completion by 2030. Impacts to project cost are not expected.”
The project includes adding sidewalks along the full five-mile stretch and installing reduced conflict intersections at all intersections within the corridor. This requires INDOT to acquire additional property, and that is taking longer than anticipated.
“The U.S. 31 project involves (the) acquisition of multiple land parcels involving several property owners. INDOT is currently working through land appraisal, which is part of the formal acquisition process set by federal regulations,” Nierman said.
The purpose of the corridor improvement is to reduce congestion, improve traffic flow, improve pedestrian connectivity and increase safety along U.S. 31 in Franklin. It was determined through data and computer modeling that the elimination of left turns and through movements at several intersections would reduce the number and severity of crashes in Franklin, INDOT officials said.
About the project
INDOT’s plans for U.S. 31 will mostly remove the ability to cut directly across U.S. 31 which state officials say have been the source of many accidents. The project would construct a long series of reduced conflict intersections on the five-mile stretch between South Main Street and the area just north of Israel Lane.
Jefferson Street and Commerce Drive will be the only streets to have cross-traffic flow between all of U.S. 31’s lanes.
Jefferson Street will have a Partial Boulevard Left intersection which means that westbound traffic will be able to go straight or turn right, but not left. Eastbound traffic will be able to travel in all directions. Traffic from Jefferson Street that would usually be allowed to turn left would instead make a U-turn at a signalized crossing near King Street.
South Main Street will feature a Continuous Green-T intersection. Traffic from South Main Street and northbound traffic on U.S. 31 will be controlled by a signal, while southbound traffic will continue to flow freely.
Restricted crossing U-turn, or R-CUT, intersections are planned for Nineveh Road, Franklin Lakes Boulevard and South Street as well as King Street, Mallory Parkway, Westview Drive/North Main Street, Earlywood Drive and Christian Boulevard/Oakville Boulevard. R-Cut intersections are designed for all side street movements to begin with a right turn, with side street left-turn and through traffic turning right permitted to make a U-turn at a dedicated median opening.
Median U-turn, or MUT, intersections, will be installed at all other intersections along the corridor including Adams Street, Ironwood Drive, Hospital Road, Madison Street, Banta Street, Schoolhouse Road, Cedar Lane, Acorn Boulevard, Industrial Drive, Branigin Road, International Drive, Lancer Drive/Sloan Drive, Covington Drive, Paul Hand Boulevard/Nicole Drive and Israel Lane. These intersections are designed so that left-turn vehicles from one or both roads make U-turns at dedicated median openings.
They will also be installed at the entrances to Walmart and KYB Americas Corporation to ease the flow of traffic from these businesses.
Commerce Drive will have a modified MUT which will allow through traffic and right turns, but left-turning traffic will have to make a U-turn in a signalized lane a short distance north or south of the intersections.
Nearly 70 % of the intersections will use a traffic signal to control movement from the U-turn lane. Non-signalized intersections will be positioned in rural areas where traffic will be lighter, INDOT officials have said.
