INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Transportation announced some welcome news for drivers on the southwest side of Indianapolis Monday.
INDOT said its crews have officially removed all long-term traffic restrictions and opened up all lanes on I-465 between I-65 and I-70.
Like most Indianapolis drivers, people working or living on the southwest side of town have gotten used to road work over the years. And there has been lots of it on I-465.
“Just something you put up with,” described driver Jason Jones.
Jason works in the area and takes I-465 every day. Over the past few years, he said he has seen frequent changes.
“Not really knowing what the roads are going to be like every morning,” he described. “I mean sometimes, I come in and the exit is closed and I had no idea. Sometimes the exit by my house is closed. So I’ve had to go alternate routes and those kinds of things. It’s been a little inconvenient and it’s added a little time to the travels in the morning.”
But those travel times should improve pretty soon. INDOT announced Monday that I-465 is now completely open, free of any prior lane or traffic restrictions in the area. Crews finished up some pavement striping and removed concrete barriers over the weekend.
“I did come in this morning and realized they did open up quite a few more lanes and actually it was pretty smooth,” Jones said. “I was fairly surprised with it, fairly surprised.”
All that work was part of the I-69 Finish Line project, which started in Martinsville in 2019. The corridor officially opened to traffic with the completion of the new I-69/I-465 interchange in August.
“I-69 Finish Line is the sixth and final section of the I-69 connection between Evansville and Indianapolis, Indiana,” said INDOT Strategic Communications Director Natalie Garrett. “The project also included added capacity on I-465, rebuilt interchanges and ramps.”
As part of the I-69 Finish Line project, INDOT added a new lane headed both east and west on I-465 between I-70 and I-65.
“We’re bringing additional traffic onto I-465 from the I-69 interchange,” Garrett said. “And those additional lanes help traffic get from I-69 onto I-465 safely and efficiently.”
Drivers also hope these new lanes will help reduce traffic congestion in the area.
“You’ve got the openness if somebody was to break down, it’s not like it’s just a lane and everything’s closed down,” Jones described. “Now you can actually flow through. You got your emergency lane back. Yeah, I believe it’s going to bring a lot more smooth travel through.”
INDOT said all lanes on I-69 should also open back up in the next week or two.
The department also said the current 45 mph construction zone speed limit will stay in place until later this winter. Crews will spend the next several months working on finishing touches like installing fences, planting trees and cleaning up.
INDOT also said it plans to fully open Harding Street by the I-465 interchange and Epler Avenue at State Road 37 by the end of the year.
According to an INDOT news release, drivers can expect the following work activities through late December, weather permitting:
- Fully opening Epler Avenue at S.R. 37 – by end of year
- Finishing pavement and barrier wall tie-ins on I-69 NB to I-465 EB and I-69 NB to I-465 WB ramps – by end of year
- Finishing median guardrail installation – I-465 WB
- Finishing median drainage installation – I-69 NB between Southport Road and Epler Avenue
- Placing overhead weigh-in-motion structures on I-465 between I-69 and U.S. 31 – will occur overnight this week
