Stop light comes down at 98th, Keystone

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) - It's usually stop lights going up for safety but this time a stop light at 98th Street and Keystone Avenue will be taken down late Wednesday night.

It's the next step in the ongoing effort to ease traffic congestion along one of the city's busiest roadways.

For some, the change is nothing but a headache. 

"Oh, I think it's a big inconvenience to the people in this area," says Gwen Piening of the Indiana Broadcasters Association who works in the office park just off 98th St. and Keystone Ave.

"I love the Keystone corridor, how they put all the roundabouts in, but when you have to now leave earlier for work and think about how you're going to get home, that affects you," Piening says. 

Beginning Thursday morning, residents will no longer be able to cross traffic and turn from 98th St. onto Keystone Ave. or from Keystone across traffic onto 98th St. The lights will come down and barricades will go up in the middle of Keystone. 

To help get area businesses and residents ready for the change, the city of Carmel sent out a flyer with information about what was going on, and the new routes that will get people to and from 98th St. Routes include going through nearby subdivisions.

"I can do it pretty easily, but there's a lot of people who are going to come here or try to get here and you know maybe they'll just go to another dentist or another business because they can't get to our building," says Piening. 

Traffic flow is the reason for the change. With Keystone already crowded during the morning and evening rush hours, more traffic is expected once construction begins on nearby Meridian Street for the U.S. 31 improvement project. 

Carmel spokeswoman Nancy Heck said in a statement, "This improved efficiency is crucial before additional U.S. 31 project work in Carmel is bid and begins this fall."

Once the 98th St. light is taken down, residents will be able to drive from the light at 96th St. all the way North past 136th St. without a stop light. Once construction work is finished up there, residents can go all the way from 96th to 146th St. without stopping.   

For a look at the alternate 98th St. routes 24-Hour News 8 has posted the map at WISHTV.com.