Staff Reports
Continued road work on I-65 southeast will change traffic patterns for those traveling between Bartholomew and Jackson counties starting today.
One the biggest changes involves the entrance ramps from the State Road 11 interchange with I-65 at Exit 55 (Jonesville/Seymour).
The move will allow for the permanent closure of the existing loop ramps sometime this afternoon, according to Natalie Garrett, a spokeswomen with the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Seymour District office.
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The closure is part of a project to convert the interchange from a cloverleaf shape to a diamond shape. Temporary ramps and signals have been installed and will be operational when the closure occurs.
Garrett said there is no timeline for completion of the new ramps.
That project is separate from the $143 million reconstruction and added travel lanes project on Interstate 65 between Exit 50 at Seymour and Exit 64 at Walesboro. The state hired contractor E and B Paving Inc. for that project which began in 2018 and is expected to be completed in August.
Minimal work including tree clearing, drainage structures and bridge approaches was completed this winter.
Construction began earlier this month and traffic shifts will take place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Monday and continuing through March 13.
Monday through Wednesday, southbound traffic from the 53.6-mile-marker to the 50-mile-marker 50 will be shifted to the outside lane and shoulder in anticipation of work resuming in that area. The existing full shoulder will no longer be present for traffic.
At the end of next week, northbound and southbound traffic near mile-marker 55 will be shifted to the outside lane and shoulder, removing the existing full shoulder for traffic to use near the old loop ramp acceleration lanes.
After the shifts are completed crews will begin grading operations and pipe installation north of Seymour, and pavement removal nears Exit 55.
The 55 mph speed restriction will return to the entire work zone sometime next week, including the northbound section between the 55- and 64-miles markers while work is taking place in the area.
As part of a different project, the U.S. 31 bridge over I-65 between Seymour and Uniontown will close for 120 days.
