SR 37 closes through Martinsville to make way for I-69

A portion of State Road 37 will close today in Martinsville, opening the door to marked progress this year on Interstate 69.

The I-69 project, to connect Evansville to Indianapolis via State Road 37, has been underway for years. It will reach Johnson County in a big way this year, and Morgan County in an even bigger way.

The Indiana Department of Transportation is closing the heavily traveled highway from the State Road 39/Morton Avenue junction to Morgan Street for much of the year to tear out and reconstruct State Road 37 to an interstate-grade highway.

Motorists who take State Road 37 through Martinsville will have to make a detour that could add miles to their commute. The official detour for north-south state highway traffic follows State Road 39, State Road 67 and State Road 144. INDOT encourages long-distance traffic to avoid the construction by using alternate routes such as Interstate 65, State Road 135 or Interstate 70.

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During the closure, there will be no north-south access through that section of Martinsville, but businesses should be accessible via side streets, said Natalie Garrett, an INDOT spokesperson.

To prepare for the closure and the interstate, INDOT spent last year completing projects on access roads that will make east-west travel through the city during the closure safer. INDOT also kept local businesses, Martinsville Chamber of Commerce and Visit Morgan County in the loop on construction plans and the timeline ahead of the project, Garrett said.

The full closure, rather than lane restrictions, is needed due to the amount of equipment needed for this stage of the project, and because traffic patterns would need to change frequently, Garrett said.

A full closure will also ensure the work is completed in a year, rather than the two it would take without a full closure. I-69 is expected to open through Martinsville late this year, she said.

Work will begin Monday on State Road 37 from the State Road 39 junction in Martinsville to the Johnson County border. That section of the project will not require a full closure, nor will any future section of the project, Garrett said.

In the first phase of the project, barrier walls will be constructed. For this stage, INDOT plans to close lanes as needed on both sides of State Road 37.

In late January or early February, traffic will shift to the northbound lanes of State Road 37, while work on the southbound lanes starts, with a switch planned when work is completed to the south.

Later this year, access road realignments are planned in Johnson County on the various county roads that intersect with State Road 37, which will convert some to dead-end courts and combine others to create north-south access roads on either side of the future interstate highway, according to project documents. 

Much of the local work planned this year will involve construction of an eastern access road from State Road 144 to Stones Crossing Road, and a western access road from State Road 144 to County Line Road. A series of roundabouts are also planned on either side of the future interchanges at State Road 144 and Smith Valley Road, project documents show. 

Local work this year will pave the way for mainline I-69 construction to begin nearly next year, Garrett said. This time next year, western Johnson County residents will see a big impact on their commutes.

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Here is a look at how you can stay up to date on Interstate 69 progress:

Follow I-69 Finish Line on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and via the project website i69finishline.com. Motorists can also subscribe to text and email alerts for the project.

INDOT customer service may be reached with questions or concerns at 855-INDOT4U or indot4u.com.

For more detail on I-69 construction, visit i69finishline.com/maps.

For information on work in Martinsville, click on the Contract 2, 3 and 4 maps.

For information on the State Road 144 interchange or work east of Martinsville, click on the Contract 3 and 4 maps.

For information on the Smith Valley Road interchange, click on the Contract 4 and 5 maps.

For information on the project in Indianapolis, click on the Contract 5 map.

Source: Indiana Department of Transportation

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