INDOT Announces Recipient of $63 Million Contract
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Goshen company has been awarded the contract to complete the final stretch of a major central Indiana road project. The $63 million deal with Rieth-Riley Construction Co. Inc. includes interchanges and a roundabout along U.S. 31 in Hamilton County. September 23, 2013
News Release
WESTFIELD, Ind. – The last of five major construction contracts for The New U.S. 31 Hamilton County has been awarded to Rieth-Riley Construction of Goshen. The project spans nearly four miles from 169th Street to 203th Street and includes a new single-point urban interchange at State Road 32, a roundabout interchange at 191st Street, an overpass at 169th Street and an underpass at 181st Street.
Rieth-Riley will begin some off-road work and temporary pavement widening along this section of U.S. 31 in early October. The contractor plans to shift southbound traffic to share the northbound side of the highway next spring. Two lanes of traffic will remain open in each direction.
The $63 million award is the final contract to upgrade U.S. 31 to freeway standards from I-465 to State Road 38 – the largest and most aggressive road project ever implemented in Hamilton County.
-$19.6 million built a new interchange at the former intersection of U.S. 31 and State Road 38 that includes twin two-lane bridges carrying U.S. 31 over State Road 38 and a ramp system linking the two highways.
-$35 million created a more efficient ramp system connecting U.S. 31, Keystone Parkway and 146th Street. Six new bridges and more than a mile of six-lane highway were upgraded to freeway standards while maintaining traffic and limiting ramp closures to the shortest possible times by using financial incentives to expedite construction.
-$59 million is currently constructing The New U.S. 31 between 146th and 169th streets, including new freeway exits at 146th, 151st and 161st streets. New ramps will connect 146th Street to the north with Greyhound Pass and 151st Street in a “split-diamond” interchange. A new freeway exit at 161st Street now has roundabouts controlling ramp and cross traffic.
-A recently-awarded $141 million contract includes U.S. 31 interchange improvements at I-465 and new roundabout interchanges at 106th, 116th, 131st and 136th streets. Complete closure of U.S. 31 between 136th Street and the Old Meridian Street ramp north of 116th Street will significantly expedite construction and is expected in 2015.
U.S. 31 Hamilton County is the first project in the nation to use new federal transportation legislation allowing up to 90 percent federal funding to be used for critical freight projects, an increase above the 80 percent maximum for non-interstate routes.
The Hamilton County improvements are part of Major Moves projects to upgrade or bypass congested sections of U.S. 31 between Indianapolis and South Bend. Three U.S. 31 corridors in Indiana are intended to reduce congestion, improve safety and provide continuity of commerce and regional travel for a U.S. highway that stretches from Michigan to Alabama.
-The U.S. 31 Kokomo project is a new four-lane divided freeway that circumvents Kokomo to the east. The 13-mile project includes six new interchanges. When complete, the bypass will shift through traffic away from the current stretch of U.S. 31 in Kokomo, which includes 15 traffic signals and more than 130 access points. The $155 million project is currently under construction and slated to be open to traffic this year.
-The New U.S. 31 Plymouth to South Bend upgrades and realigns U.S. 31 from U.S. 30 in Plymouth to the U.S. 20 bypass in South Bend. Approximately 15 miles of the 20-mile corridor will be built on new terrain east of the existing route. Construction of the $225 million project is well underway and is expected to continue through 2014.
In May, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announced plans to build a new U.S. 31 interchange at State Road 28 near the future Chrysler Tipton Transmission Plant. INDOT plans to begin construction of the new interchange in 2015 at an estimated cost of $17 million.
For more information on The New U.S. 31 Hamilton County and other major INDOT projects, visit www.INDOT.IN.gov. To receive updates on The New U.S. 31 Hamilton County, including dates and times of restrictions,
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Source: The Indiana Department of Transportation