INDOT: U.S. 31/SR 38 traffic shift

HAMILTON COUNTY, Ind. (INDOT) - Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) contractors plan to shift traffic on US 31 at State Road 38 on Friday, September 14.

Northbound and southbound traffic on US 31 approaching the construction zone will merge to the right lane on the proper side of the median. Southbound traffic will be shifted to the right lane on the west side of the median, and northbound traffic will be shifted to the right lane on the east side of the median.

Milestone Contractors will remove temporary pavement in the median while traffic is in this configuration, which is expected to take about one week. After the temporary pavement in the median is removed, Milestone expects to shift both directions of traffic toward the median in the left lanes as temporary pavement is removed from the outside shoulders.

Milestone plans to pave the surface layer of asphalt, place permanent pavement markings and open additional traffic lanes and the new State Road 38 interchange ramps by the end of October.

Both US 31 and State Road 38 will have a work zone speed limit of 35 miles per hour through the remainder of the project.

The $19.6 million interchange construction contract at the former intersection of US 31 and SR 38 is part of the new US 31 Hamilton County initiative to upgrade US 31 to freeway standards from I-465 to SR 38. When the interchange is complete, twin two-lane bridges on US 31 will overpass SR 38, and a ramp system will connect the two highways. The northbound US 31 bridge opened to traffic in December 2011; the southbound bridge is expected to be finished this year.

INDOT will bundle remaining construction phases for the new US 31 Hamilton County corridor into one contract for bid later this year. The new interstate-quality freeway is expected to open to traffic by the end of 2015, which is three years earlier than was previously anticipated.

For more information on the new US 31 Hamilton County, visit www.US31HamiltonCounty.in.gov .

Editor’s note: This information comes directly from the Indiana Department of Transportation. For more information or to contact INDOT, click here.