By early next year, residents, business owners and commuters will have a better idea of the path the new Interstate 69 will take.
The state will release new information on the route of the final leg of the interstate, which was already decided to follow State Road 37 through Johnson and Marion counties, including what intersections will dead end or will have an overpass and what homes and businesses could be torn down to make way for the interstate.
Those decisions are being made based on studies that are underway, said Andy Dietrick, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Under the plans the state is considering, several local roads could change significantly:
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryOld State Road 37, which currently ends near Olive Branch Road, could be extended along the west side of the interstate and used as an access road throughout most of Johnson County, or shorter sections of access roads could be built near main intersections.
Whiteland, Fairview and Olive Branch roads could dead-end into the interstate or get an overpass to carry traffic over I-69.
What a new interchange planned at County Line Road will look like is still being discussed.
In addition to studies, the state has also been getting feedback from local officials and business owners. What they want ranges from an access road to overpasses at nearby intersections to the state buying their property so they can move elsewhere.
White River Township Fire Chief Jeremy Pell has met with state officials multiple times to discuss the impact of I-69 on one of the stations, currently located at Smith Valley Road and State Road 37, and the department’s response times.
The fire department wants the state to buy the building and property at Smith Valley Road and help pay to build a new fire station on land the fire district already owns along Morgantown Road, near Smith Valley Road, Pell said.
The new interstate will bring multiple challenges for the fire department, including traffic issues during construction and then limited access once I-69 is built, Pell said. The state has already told the fire department that it won’t be able to get access directly to the interstate from the station, so that would mean going out on Mullinix Road and then taking other roads to get to the area they need to get to, he said.
That will cause a big change in response times, including to businesses and properties along what is currently State Road 37 and the northwest side of White River Township, which the station was built to serve, Pell said.
“That is our community, those are staples of our community, I want to have access,” Pell said.
“Swinging three or four minutes is a big deal.”
The closest station in White River Township is along State Road 135, the other key area in the fire district. Pell wants to keep the number of stations at three, which is why he said moving the current station is the best option.
The location along Morgantown Road gives the fire department the best access to the northwest area of the township, while also opening up the current property at the intersection of Smith Valley Road and State Road 37 for commercial development, he said.
“We have a big opportunity to design our community with foresight and make this a positive development,” Pell said.
Pell is on a committee that gives feedback to the state about I-69, has attended local meetings and stayed in contact with state officials but has not gotten a commitment from the state on whether it will buy the fire station property, he said.
David Bleke, who owns Bleke’s Center Grove Tire at Fairview Road and State Road 37, is also hoping the state will buy his business, since the land needed for the interstate would take away his parking lot and come within feet — if not closer — to the building, he said.
He has also had multiple conversations with officials about the state purchasing his property and signed up for his property to be purchased early in the process, if it is needed, but has not gotten a final decision, he said.
How much the state offers to pay him for his property would also dictate if he would open a new location in the area, he said. He has another location along U.S. 31 in Franklin, which would stay open, and another ideal location for a second shop is at Whiteland Road and State Road 135, but land there is expensive, and he would need to get enough money for his current property to buy land and construct a new building, Bleke said.
For now, he is unsure what will happen, he said.
“That’s where we are at. We have no idea,” Bleke said.
Being in limbo, not knowing if they will need to move, how business will be impacted or when construction will begin is frustrating for Peter Myers, who owns the Autobahn Service Center near State Road 37 and Olive Branch Road.
He doesn’t know if his business will be cut off from I-69, or if an access road or overpass would help customers get to him. But even with an overpass at Olive Branch Road, it will still be harder for customers who would have to exit the interstate elsewhere and take local roads to get to him, he said.
For now, business is continuing as usual, but he has no idea what it will be like once construction starts, Myers said.
“It’s nerve wracking, being in limbo, we don’t know whether we will have to move or what’s going to happen,” Myers said.
John Piper, facilities manager at the Angel Animal Hospital at Bluff Road and State Road 37, said the business has already started planning to construct a new building because they expect theirs will be taken by the interstate. But he is also continuing to give feedback to the state about a better way to build the new I-69, including using the current two northbound lanes of State Road 37 as an access road along the east side of the interstate for the businesses, like his, already there, he said.
He has had meetings with state lawmakers, other business owners and the state department of transportation to discuss what they would like to see done, he said.
Their business is locally owned and is doing well — growing 18 to 20 percent per year — and he wants to be sure the state recognizes the importance of local businesses, he said.
That’s why the state should consider the access road along the east side of the interstate, not the west side as one of the options suggests, he said. The east side of the interstate includes significantly more businesses and homes, he said. And that has been done in other sections of I-69, including near Bloomington, he said.
He is now working to set up a meeting with Governor-elect Eric Holcomb, who he hopes will get involved in the issue and constructing the interstate in the way that makes the most sense, Piper said. The state doesn’t have funding for the final section of I-69 yet, and there is still time to make changes, he said.
“It’s madness to do what they’re doing,” Piper said.
“It’s naive and silly to think it is never going to happen; it’s coming. We want to be proactive.”
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Here is a look at some of the options the state is considering for the future route of Interstate 69 along State Road 37:
Old State Road 37: One design shows the state extending this road further north as an access road on the west side of the interstate. Other designs show small sections of access road being built in certain areas, mainly near intersections.
County Line Road: The state is considering different designs for what the interchange planned at this intersection would look like.
Fairview Road: One design shows this road dead-ending at the interstate, while others show an overpass being built there.
Olive Branch Road: Two designs show the road dead-ending at the interstate, and one shows an overpass.
Whiteland Road: One design shows this road dead-ending at the interstate, while others show an overpass being built there.
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Indiana Department of Transportation officials are still taking feedback on what should be done with the final route of the interstate. Here is how you can give feedback:
Email: Questions can be submitted on the contact INDOT page or via email to [email protected]
Phone: Call 317-881-6408
Visit the I-69 Section 6 project office: 7847 Waverly Road, Martinsville
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