INDIANAPOLIS -- Your daily commute isn’t the only thing that’s going to be detoured when construction begins on the Interstate 65 bridges next week – emergency crews need to have new routes planned as well.
Starting July 1, areas of I-65 will be closed for roughly a month while INDOT crews work to rehabilitate seven bridges.
Between July 1 and August 5, traffic on southbound I-65 on the northwest side will be detoured via I-465 south or I-865 east.
The project will also close both directions of I-65 between Meridian Street (exit 113) and 21st Street (exit 115) in downtown Indianapolis.
The entrance and exit ramps at the Dr. Martin Luther King Street / West Street interchange (exit 114) will also be closed, but the entrance ramp from 21st Street to northbound I-65 will remain open.
READ | Parts of I-65 closed through downtown Indy starting July 1
That includes the exits to get to the hospitals like Eskenazi Hospital, Methodist Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children will all be closed.
Because of those closures, hospital officials say they’ve created a contingency plan that allows their crews to see which back roads to take to get their patients to the hospitals as quickly as possible.
The Indianapolis Fire Department has stations throughout the city and many of them won’t be affected by the closures, but their main concern is Station Five - which is located off the 21st Street exit off I-65.
Fire officials say the increased traffic along their road because of the interstate closures could cause delays in their response time, which is why they’re encouraging drivers to take alternate routes on Lafayette Road or 11th Street to help balance those traffic issues.
Special access lanes will be in place for emergency crews who need to respond to emergencies, but starting Monday major points along I-65 through downtown Indianapolis will be closed by large cement barriers.
Indiana State Police are warning drivers that there is no way around these closures except the planned detours.
“Every time people see construction they think ‘Oh, this doesn’t apply to me,’ or ‘I can get through, I can drive around the barricade,’ That’s not going to be the case in this zone,” said ISP Sgt. John Perrine. “They’re going to put concrete barriers across I-65. You’re not going to be able to go around the barriers. If you see a sign that says road closed, the road’s closed. Don’t go that way.”
Perrine says state police will have extra troopers out patrolling that stretch of I-65 to assist with traffic and deal with other challenges drivers may face when their normal routes are closed.
You can stay updated on this project by visiting the I-65 Bridge Rehabilitation Project webpage at Indy.gov.
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