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State transportation officials say safety concerns on interstates 65 and 70 downtown are too great to postpone their overhaul to wait for an independent study that would consider dramatically different alternatives that could include turning the highways into boulevards in the heart of the city or moving parts of the interstates underground.
Critics of the Indiana State Department of Transportation's initial plan to rebuild and widen the interstates, starting with the north split, have advocated for an outside look at various options they say could boost economic development downtown and improve quality of life along the routes.
INDOT instead asked its technical advisor on the project, HNTB, to create what it called a system-level analysis that is meant to "inform current public dialogue" about the issue. HNTB's John Myers called the analysis, released Thursday, a "fact-finding study" that doesn't recommend a particular option.
HNTB considered seven alternatives for the project—including some suggested by critics. It dismissed two ideas as unworkable.
That study found the most expensive of the alternatives—moving part of highway system underground and using a boulevard-style roadway to redirect other traffic—would be the most expensive, at a cost of $3.3 billion to $5.5 billion.
The most affordable option, the analysis found, would be to replace the interstates downtown with a system of lower-speed boulevards that bring traffic down to street level, an idea that some advocates are have said has worked in other cities. But HNTB said the boulevards could not handle as much traffic as the highways, and would therefore dump significant traffic onto other city streets
would replace the highways with low-speed six-lane boulevards at street level. The boulevard option is cheaper than others, at an estimated $500 to $900 million to construct over four years. But, drivers would face more of a delay during peak traffic hours — 40 percent more in the mornings and 145 percent more at night — due to slower speeds.
But the report left open the possibility
Even as local residents press officials to consider alternative designs for the I-65/I-70 North Split construction project, the Indiana Department of Transportation says it can’t afford project delays.
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INDOT says a system-level analysis of the city’s traffic patterns—details of which will be made public Thursday afternoon—support this view.
The project, which is estimated to cost $250-300 million, would add lanes of traffic on 65 and 70, widen some bridges and add others, while reconfiguring I-65 entrance and exit ramps along 11th and 12th streets.
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INDOT previewed the analysis in a meeting with reporters Thursday morning, in advance of an afternoon meeting with the project’s community advisory committee. The committee includes dozens of local government entities, major downtown employers, community groups, downtown neighborhood groups and others with an interest in the project.
INDOT’s message is a more detailed version of a viewpoint the agency has been advancing since September, when the agency first publicly announced its plans to reconstruct the intersection of interstates 65 and 70 on the northeast edge of downtown Indianapolis.
The work was necessary, INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuiness said at the time, because the 50-year-old interchange is “operating near the end of its useful life.”
Now, INDOT says its analysis shows just how urgently the work is needed.
DETAILS FROM BRIEFING, EXAMPLES
INDOT’s message didn’t go down well for some people who have been urging the agency to consider project alternatives.
In January, a grass-roots coalition of residents began voicing public opposition to INDOT’s plan on the grounds that it would harm the surrounding neighborhoods. Some coalition members came up with specific alternatives for INDOT’s proposal, including turning the existing interstates into boulevards for local traffic, while building tunnels that would carry through traffic.
REACTION WHICH SUSAN WILL GATHER AFTER THE NEWS BRIEFING
INDOT contractor HNTB Corp. has hired the public relations firm Hirons to help spread the word about the project.
Hirons Senior vice President Mike Murphy said his firm has put together logos and other branding materials, handled social media and media relations, and organized “dozens” of meetings with local groups to convey information about the North Split project.
Murphy said Hirons has held such meetings with the Indiana Pacers, Downtown Indy Inc., MIBOR, One America and others. “We’re trying to get accurate information out to anybody who’s willing to listen,” Murphy said.
The system-level analysis is part of a larger public process INDOT is working through as part of a larger environment assessment—something that must be complete before actual construction can begin. DOUBLE CHECK THAT THIS IS AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION
A system-level of analysis isn’t a required part of the process, INDOT spokesman Scott Manning told, IBJ. INDOT is doing the analysis in this case because of the concerns raised by community members.
“We’re exploring costs of concepts,” Manning said.
INDOT estimates that construction won’t begin until 2020.
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