Ready, set, travel: Holiday rush to airports, highways now underway
Cross your fingers: Flight cancellations are the lowest they’ve been in five years. The busiest days on the road will be Saturday and next Thursday, Dec. 28.
Interstates/Highways
Record crowds expected to take to air, roads for Thanksgiving
Sunday is expected to draw the largest crowds to airports with an estimated 2.9 million passengers, which would narrowly eclipse a record set on June 30.
HG Ventures seeks to accelerate its investments in road-tech
Indianapolis-based HG Ventures this week released a report in which it outlines how technology could solve long-standing issues such as traffic congestion, safety and sustainability.
INDOT reverses plan to use eminent domain on Wilson Farm Market
Store owner Scott Wilson called the decision a victory, but said his fight over the design of the Hamilton County interchange near his property wasn’t over.
Businesses along U.S. 31 will be forced to move with construction. They say it’s unfair.
Since, 1968, Wilson Farm Market has operated along U.S. 31 in Arcadia, overseen by three generations of Wilsons. However, that might not be true for the next one.
IBJ Podcast: State flipping public-input process for upgrading I-65, I-70 through Indianapolis
Indy residents say they want the state to consider elements like signage, the locations of interchanges, pedestrian safety and the way these corridors represent—or fail to represent—the city as a whole.
‘Smart concrete’ being tested on Indianapolis interstate
The sensors are designed to give a more accurate depiction of when concrete has “matured” after being poured or repaired and is strong enough to handle heavy traffic.
U.S. to require automatic emergency braking on heavy trucks and buses
Automatic braking systems in heavy vehicles would prevent nearly 20,000 crashes a year and save at least 155 lives, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
INDOT seeking more public input on future of urban interstates
As they embark on a new vision for the interstates that run through Indianapolis, state transportation officials say they hope to learn from past mistakes by making community engagement a focal point of the planning process.
U.S. traffic deaths dropped slightly in 2022, but remain high
Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities increased, as did the number of deaths involving unbelted passengers, alcohol-impaired driving, speeding and trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds.
Feds provide $2M to study reconnecting Indy neighborhoods fragmented by inner loop
The original Indianapolis inner loop construction in the 1970s displaced 17,000 people and destroyed more than 8,000 businesses and homes, according to the Department of Transportation.
Some truckers want higher speed limits; key lawmakers reluctant
Two legislators are seeking to eliminate the lower speed limit for heavy trucks on rural interstates and highways, but their proposals appear to be another chapter in more than 30 years of fruitless efforts on behalf of independent truckers.
Indiana bill to increase semi truck speed limits faces tough road ahead
Five prior proposals to eliminate the lower speed limit for trucks have been filed in the House since 2017 without success.
Eastbound Interstate 70 set to reopen through North Split, INDOT says
Westbound lanes of I-70 through the North Split aren’t expected to reopen to motorists until the end of January, weather permitting.
U.S. study: More than half of car crash victims had drugs in system
Although the study authors say the results can’t be used to gauge drug use on the roads nationwide, they say the high number of drivers, passengers and other road users with drugs in their systems is concerning.
IBJ Podcast: Indianapolis, suburbs banding together to seek more state funding for local roads
In a conversation with host Mason King, IBJ reporter Peter Blanchard discusses the state formula and the potential that legislators would be receptive to funding charges.
Indiana plans 100 EV fast-charging stations on major roads
About 40 stations, including roughly a dozen in the Indianapolis area, will be partially funded through Indiana’s $100 million portion of the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last November.
State plans new I-65 exit near Boone County’s innovation district
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Mickey Shuey and
Mickey Shuey and INDOT wants to build an interchange at West County Road 300 North that would serve the planned 7,000-acre LEAP Innovation and Research District.
New road-safety chief: Agency to scrutinize auto-driver technology
Any new regulations the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration might impose would fill what critics say is an urgent need to address the growing use of driver-assistance systems on U.S. roads.
2022 Innovation Issue: Growth of EVs has government, private companies scrambling to develop charging infrastructure
Indiana transportation and energy leaders, driven by millions of dollars in federal, state and private funding, are advancing a spate of new initiatives to bulk up the state’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.