INDOT Schedules More Highway Work

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announces that chip seal preservation is scheduled to begin or after Monday, July 22, weather permitting. Work is scheduled to begin on State Road 71 between State Road 163 and U.S. 36. This roadway will be closed during the daytime hours to through traffic, but open to residents and businesses.

Drivers can expect lane restrictions and traffic directed by flaggers while INDOT maintenance crews maintain access for vehicles. Motorists are urged to seek an alternate route. If driving through the chip seal work zone, drivers should take extra caution, drive slowly and allow additional space between vehicles to prevent stone chips from damaging windshields or paint.

Once the chip seal has cured, crews will sweep the highway clear of loose stone, apply a fog seal surface coat and paint pavement markings.

National research has shown that every $1 used to preserve INDOT roadways saves $6 to $14 in future costs. After years of heavy traffic and winter freeze-thaw cycles, small cracks typically develop in our highways. If left untreated, moisture seeps into these cracks and form potholes when water freezes and expands. As the name implies, a chip-seal treatment seals off the cracks. The stone chips provide improved traction for stopping, especially during winter.

Curious about chip seal projects? View this video to see the benefits, and how they save taxpayer dollars: youtu.be/ZfwaAUpk6fo. Or find information on INDOT’s chip seal preservation online at www.in.gov/indot/3266.htm.

INDOT also announced that U.S. 136 and Nucor Road in Montgomery County will become a four-way stop condition temporarily beginning Monday, July 22. This will be in effect for the official detour during the State Road 32 closure just east of Crawfordsville over Walnut Fork Creek through the middle of November.

INDOT made this change to improve the safety of this intersection. Motorists are urged to pay attention to the changes in traffic patterns.