34th Street Bridge to Close on 21st


(posted Jan 12)

INDOT
click on photo to expand
Paint crews were out Saturday remarking the intersection of Crawfordsville and High School roads.

Photo by Jay Thompson
News Release

Construction will impact 34th and 38th Street, I-465 on Westside

INDIANAPOLIS - Despite the falling temperatures, Accelerate 465 road construction on the Westside is continuing at a steady pace. In December, The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) opened the new 46th Street bridge over I-465 and the first phase of the 38th Street interchange. State contractors continue to lay asphalt for new lanes of I-465 northbound.

Bridge crews turn their focus this winter to building a new 34th Street bridge over I-465 and the second phase of the 38th Street interchange. As weather allows, INDOT plans to take down remaining sections of the old 38th Street bridge during the next three weeks. Demolition crews also plan to begin removing the 34th Street bridge the week of January
21. West 34th Street will be closed at I-465 through July, with traffic detoured over High School Road, 38th Street and Eagle Creek Parkway.

INDOT is monitoring traffic flow at the 38th Street interchange to reduce work zone delays and traffic backups. As part of this effort, left turns will be prohibited from 38th Street at the Shore Drive intersection, just west of the I-465 interchange, as early as Tuesday, January 15. All other movements at the intersection will be maintained, including traffic turning left onto 38th Street. Diverted traffic is encouraged to access nearby businesses using Eagle Creek Parkway, which is about 600 feet west of Shore Drive. Left turns from 38th Street at the two intersections closest to the I-465 interchange, High School Road and Shore Drive, will be prohibited through August.

Starting this spring, both directions of I-465 will share the east (northbound) half of the interstate between I-74/Crawfordsville Road and I-65. Ramp access will be maintained while contractors rebuild and widen the southbound lanes. Next week contractors will begin preparations by clearing trees, bushes and other obstructions within the new right of way boundaries along I-465 southbound.

As one of the first segments of I-465 ever built, the eleven miles of interstate between West 56th Street and S.R. 67/Kentucky Avenue cannot handle existing traffic volumes at peak periods. Accelerate 465 is a Major Moves project that will add lanes to I-465 and reconfigure interchanges to promote the free-flow movement of traffic. Pedestrian
crossings, noise barriers and other improvements will also benefit nearby residents.

Gov. Mitch Daniels' Major Moves highway program capitalizes on Indiana's strategic location at the Crossroads of America by building a superior road infrastructure. When complete in 2015, nearly $12 billion in critical highway projects will have been built. This innovative plan will bring jobs to the Hoosier State and leave a legacy for Indiana to
be a global leader in distribution and logistics.