'I can't die until Purdue wins one': Boilermakers fan, 92, has waited 80 years for NCAA title
HAMILTON COUNTY

U.S. 31 in Carmel to shut April 4

By Brian Eason
brian.eason@indystar.com

Major construction — and congestion — is coming to Carmel ahead of schedule.

The Indiana Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced plans to shut down a section of U.S. 31 in Hamilton County for eight months beginning this spring, work that was initially set to begin in 2015.

But while the plan calls for accelerated work on many of Carmel's busiest intersections, project officials still don't expect to finish the full project before the end of 2015 as other work is pushed back.

The road will be closed beginning April 4, from Old Meridian Street to 136th Street, through Thanksgiving, according to INDOT, while new overpasses and interchanges are built at major cross streets including 136th, Main Street and Carmel Drive. U.S. 31 also will be cut to one lane of traffic each way beginning at 116th Street in the south and Keystone Parkway in the north.

The work is part of a broader, $1.2 billion project ongoing since 2011 to turn U.S. 31 into a limited access highway by removing 32 traffic lights between I-465 and South Bend. The Hamilton County portion will convert 13 stoplights to free-flowing interchanges, shaving commute times by 10 minutes locally and as much as 30 minutes along the entire corridor, according to transportation officials.

While the overall plan has been in place for years, the announcement still caught residents, businesses and even Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard off guard Tuesday, mere weeks before the closures are expected to take effect.

"Today is the first I knew of the exact dates," said Jami Santos, co-owner of Bellacino's Pizza and Grinders on Carmel Drive near the highway.

Santos said her employees were wondering how they should get to work come April, and she doesn't know what to expect from customers when the road shuts down.

"We keep going back and forth as to how much it's going to hurt our business," Santos said. On the plus side, Bellacino's doesn't have much highway visibility to begin with, so the increased local traffic could help. Her restaurant already has received a boost from construction workers, she said.

But she's not sure if customers will want to take the new routes needed to get there. "I wish I had a crystal ball," she said. "It'll be interesting, I'm sure."

Brainard, meanwhile, said he knew that INDOT had discussed moving the closure to this year, but the timing of the announcement surprised him.

Still, he said, "Carmel's ready for it to happen. We've been working on this, literally, for 15, 16 years."

The preparations, so far, have included an overhaul of Keystone Parkway as well as improvements to Illinois, Pennsylvania and Old Meridian streets.

"As people come north, they're going to have lots of routes," Brainard insisted — the trick will be figuring out the best ones early on, as drivers feel out the new traffic flows.

Some 51,000 vehicles travel that stretch of U.S. 31 each day, according to the latest INDOT traffic counts. The official detour will reroute that traffic onto Keystone Parkway, but state and local officials expect Illinois and Pennsylvania streets to absorb a lot of cars as well.

Area residents already are brainstorming new routes and bracing for congestion.

"I'll be using Michigan Road and I-65 a lot more to get to Downtown (Indianapolis)," said Lauren Schregardus, a West Clay resident. She initially balked at the closure, calling it a huge inconvenience, but said she's optimistic it will be worth it in the long run.

"I don't have a better idea on how to address it, so I appreciate the proactive approach," Schregardus wrote in an email to The Star. "Roads don't fix themselves."

INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield said transportation officials met with first responders on Tuesday to brief them on the changes. Critically, the 136th Street crossing will remain open at all times to maintain access to St. Vincent Carmel Hospital.

INDOT officials also will meet with affected business owners Thursday at Carmel Public Library, with presentation times spaced throughout the day. Future open houses for residents are scheduled in March. For more information, visit us31closure.com.

As for the reasons behind the change, different explanations emerged. Wingfield said the move was done to alleviate traffic problems that will arise when other work begins in 2015. The new timeline also cut the closure from 10 months to eight.

Brainard said INDOT also had problems securing right-of-ways for improvements further south that had been planned for 2014, so the timelines were swapped.

As for the total closure, that's been the plan for years, they agreed.

"It's always inconvenient," Brainard said. "What we've heard from most of the business owners is that they'd rather see it done quickly than spread out of over a longer period of time" with individual lane closings.

Call Star reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.