INDIANAPOLIS — New maps featuring Section 6 of Interstate 69 were on display Monday at Perry Meridian High School.
The exhibit was part of the open house and public comment meeting on five potential routes for Section 6 as it cuts through Morgan County.
It was the first time potential interchanges had been shown to the public on maps for the five routes.
On the display in the gymnasium were alternatives listed as K-3, K-4, B, C and D.
The routes follow Ind. 37 through Martinsville. The Martinsville Common Council endorsed that, while asking that there be an interchange at Ohio Street and a vehicular overpass with pedestrian accommodation from Grand Valley Boulevard.
A $2.3 million Ohio Street project from Prather Drive to Ind. 37 was completed this year. It includes new pavement, drainage, curbs and sidewalks. The city provided a match for the project, but the federal government is providing the other 80 percent.
Ohio Street provides a direct route to two major employers, Twigg Corp. and For Bare Feet, as well as to the downtown business district and schools.
The council letter stated, “An overpass from Grand Valley is needed to provide connectivity from the low/moderate income residential area of SR-37 to the major shopping area of Grand Valley. ... Without this interchange and overpass, the construction of I-69 will have a severe and adverse impact on the economic and social well-being of the city and its citizens.”
The Martinsville area interchanges from what is now Ind. 37 listed on the maps are Rogers Road/Bypass, on all maps; Ind. 252, all maps; and Henderson-Ford Road or Egbert Road, all maps.
Although interchanges aren’t listed for Ohio Street, Grand Valley Boulevard, Burton Lane or Ind. 44, potential grade separations are marked on the maps. Grade separations are arrangements which enable roads, paths and railroads to cross one another at different elevations or levels, typically by providing a bridge-like structure.