Here’s a listing of some alternate routes you can take to avoid the I-465 / I-69 closures.

I-69 South to East Side

• From SB 69, exit at SR 238 (Exit 10) and turn left at the light.  Drive about 1/2 mile to the traffic circle.  Take Olio Road south thru Fishers over Giest Reservoir, (road becomes CR 600 W/Mt. Comfort Road).
  • To reach Lawrence, turn right on Pendleton Pike/US 36. (Detour 15.14 Miles)
  • To reach east side/downtown continue south to I-70.   (Detour 19.8 Miles)

I-69 South to Shadeland

• Take I-69 south to Binford Blvd.   Turn left on 75th St. or 71St. and head East to Shadeland.  Turn right on Shadeland to I-465. (Detour 3.2 Miles)

I-465 to East Side (Shadeland & 71st)

• Exit I-465 to Meridian.  Turn right on Meridian and take to 86th Street east to Keystone Blvd.  Turn right onto Keystone to 71st. St.  Turn left 71st St. eastbound past Allisonville Rd. and Binford Blvd. to Shadeland. (Detour 9.88 Miles)

I-465 to East Side (Lawrence)

• Exit I-465 at Meridian.  Take Meridian south to Kessler Blvd.  Turn left on Kessler and take east to East 56th St.  Turn left on E. 56th to I-465. (Detour 10.91 Miles)

I-465 WB to Keystone

• Take I-69 north to 96th Street (Exit 3).  Take 96th St. west to Keystone Blvd.  Turn left on Keystone and head south to I-465. (Detour 8.04 Miles)

My story tonight — about plans for modifying I-465 and I-69 — is of interest to people who deal with congestion, every day,  in northeastern Marion County and in Hamilton County.   Will Wingfield of INDOT says the department plans to take 465 from what is  ”in general, a six lane highway” to ten lanes.  The goal for I-69 is to expand to fourteen lanes at its widest point.

Does that raise the concern that the Field of Dreams message will apply here?  If you build it, will they come?  That’s an issue that comes up in any major road project — that more lanes only attract more traffic.  So, if that’s true, expansion does not solve congestion.

Wingfield says construction is not the only way to address the problem.  He says INDOT argues for a “multi-prong approach – not just state highway work but also consideration for mass transit. For alternate modes of transportation such as biking and walking and we’re trying to accomodate that as best we can.” 

INDOT is also looking toward the day that light rail is available in central Indiana.  Several bridge improvements are part of the $567 million dollar plan.  Wingfield says the bridges in the rail corridor are being designed with the idea that, someday, they may need two sets of track — for north- and southbound trains.  “We’re designing our bridges to try to accomodate those plans,” he says.

But, city leaders can make life easier for state highway planners.  Wingfield says upgrades to local streets can help — “so there’s more than one option beyond the interstate to get to work.”

Southbound I-69 traffic needs exit prior to the 45 mile-marker in Delaware County (S.R. 28 Gaston, Indiana exit).  

We are allowing NO traffic southbound I-69 from the 45 mile-marker (S.R. 28), 41 mile-marker (S.R. 332) and 34 mile-marker (S.R. 32/67) in Delaware County due to multiple vehicle crashes in Madison and Hamilton Counties (Indiana State Police Pendleton District). Northbound traffic from these locations is NOT affected.

At least two people are dead according to the Indiana State Police after a multi-vehicle pileup on Interstate 69 near mile marker 8. That is just south of the SR 238 exit near the Verizon Wireless Music Center.

According to Ron Lipps of the Fishers Fire Department, at least 15 vehicles were involved in the accident, including a Fishers Fire Truck. Several people had to be extracted from their vehicles. It is not yet known how many more were injured.

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John Waterman’s apparent failure to make the ballot for governor is a feat shared by Steve Bonney of the Independent Party.

Bonney is an I-69 opponent who launched his petition drive for ballot status long before Waterman, though with less fanfare.  The result is very similar.

With 32,741 signatures required, a preliminary count from clerk’s offices indicates Bonney has 2281.  He is 30,000 shy.

In the counties where you might expect the most opposition to I-69 he did poorly, too, with just 24 signatures in Morgan County and 187 in Monroe.

Its time for some people to look for new ways to defeat Mitch Daniels.