I-65 lane near new Worthsville Road exit closes
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — One mile of southbound I-65 through Greenwood was cut down to one lane near the new Worthsville Road exit Wednesday night.
The closure begins one mile North of the exit in the southbound direction, and it was set to remain closed until early Thursday morning.
The lane closure is on the interstate for crews to repair a damaged guardrail.
Other than proximity, INDOT said it has nothing to do with the recently opened diverging diamond interchange at Worthsville Road.
But they said that the diverging diamond project has been a success so far.
“Other people I’ve spoken with love the on ramp as well just because it’s a super time saver,” New Whiteland Resident Jason Morris said.
Morris lives south of Greenwood and takes I-65 north to work every day using the new diverging diamond.
He said it’s cut a significant amount of time off his drive to Indy.
“Since they opened the interchange it’s probably taken 10 to 12 minutes off my commute to downtown every day, which is great,” Morris said.
He feels the construction headache has been worthwhile and he is glad INDOT took a chance on the diverging diamond.
“I think it’s cool; I think it’s effective. It’s, from what I’ve read, the most efficient way to get cars on and off,” he said.
He also believes people are driving really well around the unusual design.
“I have not seen any congestion or accidents or close calls or anything,” he said.
The construction-filled interstate just underneath the diamond is a different story.
There have been a number of accidents since last summer.
“Most of it is going to be driver error, some of it’s going to be attributed to weather conditions,” INDOT spokeperson Harry Maginity said.
The most recent of many wrecks damaged a piece of guardrail.
That caused the lane closure on I-65 southbound Wednesday night.
“This one is just a crash into it and it’s very, very common that we are out there repairing, and when we do it, we usually have to close a lane,” Maginity said.
He said they view guardrail damage as a positive because it means the guardrail did its job keeping the vehicle contained.
Maginity said when construction is complete INDOT expects traffic to flow just as well as it does through the diverging diamond.
The construction on I-65 from Greenwood’s Main Street exit to Franklin is on schedule to be completed later this year.