Staff Reports
Continued roadwork on Interstate 65 will alter traffic patterns for those traveling through Jackson County starting today.
One of the biggest changes created by that work involves the ramps at the State Road 11 interchange with Interstate 65 at Exit 55 (Jonesville/Seymour).
That project involves the permanent closure of the loop ramps sometime this afternoon, according to Natalie Garrett, a spokeswomen with the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Seymour District office.
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The closure is part of a project to convert the interchange from a cloverleaf to a diamond shape. Temporary ramps and signals have been installed and will be operational when the closure occurs, she said.
Garrett said there is no timeline available for completion of the new permanent ramps.
That project is presently separate, but could become part of the $143 million reconstruction and added travel lanes project on Interstate 65 between Exit 50 at Seymour and Exit 64 at Walesboro. The state hired contractor E and B Paving Inc. for that project, which began in 2018 and is expected to be completed in August.
Minimal work, including tree clearing, drainage structures and bridge approaches, was completed as part of that project this winter.
Construction resumed earlier this month and traffic shifts will take place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Monday and continuing through March 13, weather permitting.
From Monday through Wednesday, southbound traffic from the 53.6-mile-marker to the 50-mile-marker will be shifted to the outside lane and shoulder in anticipation of work resuming in that area. The existing full shoulder will no longer be present for traffic.
On Thursday and Friday, northbound and southbound traffic near mile-marker 55 will be shifted to the outside lane and shoulder, removing the existing full shoulder for traffic to use near the old loop ramp acceleration lanes.
Once the shifts are completed, crews will begin grading operations and pipe installation north of Seymour and pavement removal near Exit 55.{div}The 55 mph speed restriction will return to the entire work zone sometime next week, including the northbound section between the 55- and 64-mile-markers while work is taking place in the area.{/div}