We are now a year away from when work will begin on the final leg of Interstate 69 in southern Indiana.
The project, set to begin sometime in 2021, will connect I-69 to Indianapolis from Martinsville. The plan is to bring State Road 37 up to interstate code all the way up to I-465. That means State Road 37 will have to be shutdown along Grand Valley Road in Martinsville where several businesses and even the high school are located.
“It will definitely have an impact,” said Mayor Kenny Costin… “I understand the reasoning to do it, but it’s really going to make people not want to come through Martinsville once this comes.”
State Road 37 will be closed for 10 months in 2021, which means businesses along State Road 37 are going to have to rely on detours in order for customers to get to them.
“A full closure will allow our contractor to complete this section of I-69 much quicker and also in a safer way,” said INDOT spokeswoman Natalie Garrett.
Indiana University game day traffic will certainly be affected by the closure, which INDOT hopes the university will inform visiting teams and their fans of.
Official detours around the closure will be to get off State Road 37 at State Road 144, head west to State Road 67 and then head south to State Road 39. Then you pick up State Road 37 from their south of Martinsville. Northbound drivers will do the exact opposite.
“We’re going to get mad. We’re going to get frustrated,” Mayor Costin said. “But it’s got to get worse before it gets better.”
The whole project between Martinsville and Indianapolis is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
STORY FROM NETWORK INDIANA