Downtown construction compounding North Split closure headaches

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Traffic is expected to back up through downtown as the North Split closure looms.

The official closure is expected to start on Saturday and Indiana Department of Transportation says it will take two days to get everything fully shut down.

There are a couple sizable projects happening downtown right now that have closed lanes on major roadways and even closed other streets downtown. While drivers try to manage the 18-month North Split closure, they are also going to be dodging orange cones downtown.

“If you are a thru traffic person, if you go through the North Split every morning, let’s say you are going through to go to work or coming from the east side to the west side anything like that, take 465,” INDOT spokeswoman Mallory Duncan said.

For those needing to get into downtown, city streets are going to start seeing a lot more traffic, which might be challenging considering the multiple construction projects that are already causing backups without the added vehicles.

“There is going to probably be more congestion and it is going to take a little bit longer to get through downtown but we have been working with INDOT since the beginning of this year to upgrade several hundred traffic signals,” Hannah Scott-Carter with the Department of Public Works said.

In hopes of alleviating some of the congestion, INDOT and DPW have reworked traffic signals through downtown to improve their timing to better serve the increased traffic.

“We recognize that millions of people go through the North Split every single day. It is our second busiest interchange and obviously when we close it there is going to be traffic on other streets, other routes,” Duncan said.

Timing was not on our side this summer when it comes to convenience. According to INDOT, the North Split couldn’t wait any longer to be redone and projects like Delaware and Market Street couldn’t be put off any longer either.

“There are several other projects that are going on in the area that Delaware ties into like the Super Stops with IndyGo and the work happening over at Bankers Life,” Scott-Carter said.

Scott-Carter says DPW did re-schedule other projects to resume after the north split is re-opened.

Starting Saturday:

• Interstate 65 southbound will be closed at 21st Street
• I-65 northbound and I-70 eastbound will be closed at Illinois and Meridian Street
• I-70 westbound will be closed at the Keystone exit

INDOT has created an entire website dedicated to the North Split project and planning your way around it.