One huge chunk of limestone at a time, I-69 workers are blasting their way through the new interstate’s path near the intersection with Sample Road north of Bloomington, about two miles before the College Avenue interchange.
Every day the weather is clear, the blasting through thick limestone deposits continues. Explosives are set into the rock, sometimes 20 feet deep, and then detonated.
Andrew Spriggs, who lives close by, said the earth heaves up 15 to 20 feet, then settles back down, the rock left in fragments just below the surface.
Sandra Flum, an Indiana Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said there will be one blast in the afternoon and possibly one in the evening, or both, as daylight extends during the summer.
The I-69 Section 5 Facebook page and Twitter account inform motorists when the blasts will occur.
And they need to know, because traffic is stopped for 20 minutes in both directions every time workers detonate an explosion to shatter the limestone into pieces. Drivers in the area might consider keeping a book or a knitting project in the car.
“Blasting is scheduled for 1 p.m., weather permitting,” a message posted Friday morning said. “Blasting will occur today at 6 p.m.,” a Thursday post warned. And this past Tuesday, news of two explosions: “Blasting will occur today at 1 and 7 p.m.”
This is expected to continue through August as the interstate construction continues north to Martinsville, with a completion date for Section 5 at least a year away.