ANDERSON — Motorists traveling from Anderson to the Indianapolis metropolitan area could see additional travel lanes along Interstate 69 by 2020.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is planning to add a third travel lane in each direction along the interstate from the Pendleton exit to the Scatterfield Road exit in Anderson.
Currently Milestone Construction is completing work on a third travel lane in each direction from exit 205 at Ind. 37 to just north of exit 219.
Nathan Riggs, spokesman for INDOT, said Thursday the agency is looking for a separate project north of the Pendleton exit (exit 219).
“The preliminary plans are still being developed and should be completed by the end of the year,” Riggs said. “A contract will be awarded next spring.”
The project will be a design build, which allows the contractor and its design team to finalize the plans for the work, he said.
Riggs said a design build allows for a lower cost for the project.
He said the preliminary cost estimate is $70 million. The work is expected to take two years.
“It will be a mixed project,” Riggs said. “There will be additional travel lanes, bridge replacement or rehabilitation and rehabilitation of pavement in other areas.”
The project could extend to the Chesterfield/Daleville exit (exit 234) but no additional travel lanes are being planned north of Scatterfield Road.
“Our goal is additional travel lanes to exit 226,” Riggs said. “We will have a better idea of the scope of the work once the bids are received.”
Greg Winkler, executive director of the Anderson Economic Development Department, said the added travel lanes to the two Anderson exits will greatly improve access to the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
“It is more likely that people will consider Anderson a place to build a new home,” he said. “The housing prices in Anderson are a lot lower than the surrounding areas.”
Winkler said there is a false perception that it takes a long time to drive from Anderson to Interstate 465.
“It’s not a game changer,” he said of the added lanes. “But as more people discover the travel time is not that much of a factor, it makes Anderson more a part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
“This just confirms that Anderson is a part of the larger metropolitan area,” Winkler continued. “If the numbers weren’t there, INDOT wouldn’t be adding the travel lanes.”
Rob Sparks, director of the Anderson Economic Development Corp., said the increased capacity on the main highway will help Anderson become more of a regional center in the future.
"People will be commuting to work and shop," he said. "I believe the I-69 corridor will lead the region in economic development over the next 25 years. As the logistics get better to get people to work, I expect there to be a population growth.
"This will help our ability to market Anderson," Sparks added.
The bridges to be replaced or rehabilitated will be identified as the project moves forward, Riggs said.
Riggs said the traffic volume count between Scatterfield Road and Pendleton is roughly 56,000 vehicles per day in both directions.
“The traffic volume really drops off north of exit 226,” he said.