Road crews will shut down State Road 11 next week at two separate times and locations that will keep the highway closed west of Azalia for a month.
Starting Monday, the highway will be closed south of County Road 800N near the entrances of the Woodbrook and Villa Park subdivisions near Jonesville, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Then, in mid-April, State Road 11 will be closed one mile north of the first construction site until the end of April. Both closings involve a small structure replacement, which could be a culvert or a bridge less than 20 feet long.
At both locations, traffic is carried on the highway through an swampy, unnamed tributary known as Thompson Slough. according to the INDOT news release.
When the state posts official detours, the route must consist of only state and federal highways, according to INDOT regulations. In this case, the official detour involves State Road 11, Interstate 65 and State Road 46.
However, there is often an unofficial detour that utilizes rural county roads that is usually much shorter for drivers.
The Bartholomew County commissioners approved an unofficial detour that, for southbound traffic on State Road 11, turns traffic right onto County Road 650S south of Waynesville. From 650S, drivers can turn left onto County Road 100W — and then left again on County Road 950 South. That detour into Jonesville will work from March 29 through mid-April. But after the first project is completed in mid-April, drivers can return back to the highway from County Road 100W on County 800S again.
