INDIANAPOLIS — Brandon Fisher drives 45 minutes from Martinsville to Indianapolis to grab a beer with his buddies on the weekends.
“Outings, drinking, the ball games," Fisher said.
But for the past two years, getting into downtown has been a burden for him.
“The exit ramps are a challenge. Trying to get around town is very difficult. Once this is done, it’s going to be a lot easier and I might be more willing to come down often," Fisher said.
Construction on the North Split began in May of 2021 and has been a pain for drivers across Central Indiana.
The multi-million dollar project aims to reduce crashes and congestion on major highways surrounding Indy.
The new system features a smaller footprint and increases the walkability of surrounding downtown Indianapolis neighborhoods. The redesigned interchange improves safety by eliminating weaving and merging, leading to better traffic flow.
“It’s connecting almost all four corners of 465. This is a really big area. This also just allowing people to get their goods and services on the crossroads of America, which is what we are," INDOT spokesperson Kyleigh Cramer said.
This weekend, INDOT plans to finally reopen I-65 through the North Split.
All I-65 northbound and southbound lanes are expected to open on Monday.
In the meantime, INDOT reminds you that crews will being working throughout the weekend to install pavement markings and move barrels to open lanes.
Over on North College Avenue, North Split construction has caused a few bumps in the road for Triumph Indianapolis general manager Paul Warrenfelt.
“We had to plan a little extra time with our commute," Warrenfelt said. “During the construction, they’d periodically change and close different streets when they were redoing bridges. So, it’s like where’s Waldo. Every day you’d be coming in wondering whether Central Avenue is going to be open today or not.”
And the lane closures, detours and construction made it confusing for customers to find them.
Warrenfelt is hopeful that will coming to an end with the reopening.
“Less congestion, less confusing. It’ll be much better," Warrenfelt said.
INDOT encourages drivers to slow down, exercise caution and drive distraction-free through all work zones.
For up-to-date project information, visit northsplit.com or text “NORTHSPLIT” to 468311.
Follow the North Split project’s progress on their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages.
