With mostly warm and dry weather this summer, projects to repave and rebuild roads have stayed on schedule or close to it.
That means that in the next few months, work will be wrapping up on the construction that has plagued drivers this year.
In the next two months, work is expected to finish on repaving projects on U.S. 31 and State Road 37.
And by the end of the year, nearly all of the work to widen and repave Interstate 65 between Franklin and Greenwood will be done, said Harry Maginity, Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman.
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But not all the work across Johnson County is wrapping up: construction is set to begin next week on the first phase to rebuild Jefferson Street through Franklin.
Rain last week did delay some work, and put crews about a week behind. But the rest of the summer has been mostly dry, allowing crews to stay on schedule, he said.
Already finished: a new roundabout at Graham and Whiteland roads, and crews finished most work weeks ago to repave U.S. 31, between Franklin and Greenwood.
But crews have continued doing the final pieces of that project, including paving driveways, approaches and crossovers along the highway. That work has taken more time than other projects because U.S. 31 has so many driveways and intersections, he said. Work is set to be done by Sept. 30.
About that same time, work is also set to finish on a project to rebuild a bridge on Madison Avenue near Greenwood Park Mall, and to add a roundabout on Paris Drive, off King Street and I-65 on Franklin’s east side.
The same company doing the work on U.S. 31 has also started work to repave State Road 37, between State Road 144 and Wicker Road. Crews put off that project until the work on U.S. 31 was mostly finished. As of this week, crews had patched the highway and started paving. Work is set to be done by Oct. 30, Maginity said.
The biggest project in Johnson County, which has been ongoing for more a year, is along I-65, where crews are rebuilding bridges and adding a lane in each direction between Franklin and Greenwood.
Work continues in multiple sections, with crews spread out between rebuilding bridges, breaking up pavement and putting down new asphalt, Maginity said.
Last week’s rain did delay some work, but crews still expect to finish most of the project by the end of the year, he said. The final layer of asphalt will likely need to be finished in the spring, but most motorists won’t even notice it is missing, he said.
But that of course depends on the weather, he said. Crews typically plan to continue working through Thanksgiving, but in some years have continued into December with warm enough weather. But in other years, they have had to stop in October due to early snow, he said.
“You never know when it is going to come in,” Maginity said.
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Here is a look at where construction projects stand:
Interstate 65 widening between Greenwood and Franklin
Status: About a week behind due to rain, expected to be mostly finished — except final coating of asphalt — by the end of the year.
U.S. 31 repaving between Greenwood and Franklin
Status: Main lanes completed, crews are working on driveway approaches, pavement markings and will soon install new sensors at stoplights. Work will be done by Sept. 30
State Road 37, between State Road 144 and Wicker Road
Status: Paving has started, project will be completed by Oct. 30
Jefferson Street, rebuilding the road between the gas station and Main Street
Status: Work expected to begin Aug. 29, and finish by the end of the year
Paris Drive roundabout on east side of Franklin
Status: Work is ongoing, expected to be complete by mid-September
Madison Avenue bridge near Greenwood Park Mall
Status: Work is on time, expected to be complete by mid-September
Whiteland Road roundabout
Status: Complete
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