As cold weather gets closer, construction crews on Interstate 65 will be working more to try and finish as much as they can before snow and freezing temperatures begin.
Workers are hoping to finish a new interchange at Worthsville Road in Greenwood and a project to add a new lane in each direction between Southport Road and Main Street in Greenwood. Crews will also be continuing work to add a new lane between Greenwood and Franklin, and hope to have repairs and paving on three of the four lanes complete between Franklin and Edinburgh.
For the next couple of months, motorists should expect lane closures in the evenings and potentially on the weekends, said Harry Maginity, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Transportation.
For example, workers will close the right lanes along both sides of I-65, south of Franklin, tonight so they can repair and replace guardrails, according to a news release from the state department of transportation.
Those lane closures are needed for multiple reasons, Maginity said. The closures allow crews to get more work done, including laying down concrete, making repairs and putting in new bridges, he said. Recently, when concrete was poured for the new bridge over I-65 for the Worthsville Road interchange, one lane of traffic was closed to protect vehicles driving underneath the bridge. If the state has any concerns that concrete could fall through or motorists could be in danger, the lane will be closed, Maginity said.
Crews working along I-65 are allowed to close lanes in the evening, under their contracts, and have been throughout the project, he said.
But as the construction season comes to an end, workers could need to close lanes more on weekends in order to get as much work done as possible, Maginity said.
Crews are working extended days six days a week on the $21 million project to repair and repave I-65 between Franklin and Edinburgh. That project got behind due to wet weather, but the hope is to be able to have three lanes finished this year and to finish the fourth in the spring, Maginity said.
Between Southport Road and Main Street in Greenwood, crews are working seven days a week. Their goal is to finish the $35.9 million project this year, and they have made up a significant amount of lost time, he said.
And workers also want to finish the new interchange at Worthsville Road by the November deadline.
Work to widen the highway between Greenwood and Franklin and do bridge work at Main Street will continue through the winter, he said.
The question of whether the work will be able to be done is dependent on the weather, he said.
“Are we going to have snow at Halloween, or are we going to have sunshine at Thanksgiving?” he said.
