Indiana expands I-70 as accident reduction project

A portion of Interstate 70 in Indiana will soon be widened. This should cause numerous traffic jams and accidents on this section of the route.

Two years are planned for the modernization of the road. Indiana Department of Transportation crews will begin construction on Interstate 70 between County Road 700 and State Road 9. The second year of construction will be completed on I-70 between County Road 700 and Sugar Creek.

This part of the project will add an additional lane to the highway in a year.

“This lane will give people the ability to move around, help our first responders in the event of an accident,” – Mallory Duncan, director of strategic communications for the Indianapolis Department of Transportation (INDOT).

“Many people know that there are a lot of traffic jams on I-70,” Duncan continued. “Because of the heavy traffic, we’ve had a lot of accidents here.”

The highway is expected to remain open throughout the construction period, which will help keep traffic moving but pose a risk to road crews and distracted motorists.

“We are going to maintain two lanes in both directions in a crossover pattern. The biggest thing we see is that people don’t pay attention to cars braking in front of them. When people are inattentive in a construction area, they can hit someone in front of them.”, Duncan said. “All traffic will be on one side of the Interstate while we work on the other side.”