The editors of Engineering News Record (ENR) have named the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) as 2020 Owner of the Year for ENR Midwest. ENR is a leading news publication for the engineering and construction industries across the country. Each year ENR identifies and recognizes project owners for excellence in planning, design, construction and project management of large-scale construction projects.
“Our unprecedented commitment to infrastructure continues to receive national attention, both from industry experts and from job creators†Governor Eric J. Holcomb said. “A long-term, fully funded plan for maintaining our highways, historic investment in local roads and determination to deliver on transformational projects like I-69 and expanding the South Shore Line are making Indiana an even better place to do business and create jobs.â€
“Despite all of the challenges of living and working during a pandemic, the Indiana Department of Transportation made 2020 a great year for infrastructure,†Jeff Yoders, ENR Midwest Editor, said. “The editors of ENR are proud to name INDOT ENR Midwest’s Owner of the Year.â€
“Our INDOT team, along with our consulting and contracting partners, are working harder than ever to deliver high-quality transportation improvement projects as safely as possible and at the best value to Hoosiers,†Joe McGuinness, INDOT Commissioner, said. “I am pleased that ENR chose to recognize Indiana for its leadership in building and maintaining our transportation network.â€
Highlights from INDOT’s 2020 include:
- Record $2.08 billion investment in more than 1,400 capital construction projects on Indiana’s state highway system and $462 million investment in 560 local road, bridge, sidewalk and trail projects through Governor Holcomb’s Next Level Roads plan.
- Approximately 750 bridges reconstructed or rehabilitated and replaced approximately 700 centerline miles of pavement on the state highway system.
- Traffic impacts from COVID-19 allowed INDOT to rephase approximately 20 state highway construction projects. The most significant rephasing involved a project to replace about 75 miles of pavement and 28 bridge decks on I-70 in Indianapolis. INDOT authorized contractors to close all lanes in the construction in one direction at time to complete work faster. This rephasing reduced the project completion time by three months and saved taxpayers approximately $3.5 million.
- I-69 Finish Line (Section 6). Indiana is in the final stage of the longest interstate extension project currently under construction in the country. I-69 Finish Line is the sixth and final section of the Interstate 69 connection between Evansville and Indianapolis. The project upgrades the existing State Road 37 to interstate standards from Martinsville to Indianapolis. The project eliminates more than 200 at-grade crossings and driveways, constructs or rehabilitates over 70 bridges, builds 35 miles of new local access road connections and adds 10 new interchanges. The I-69 extension is the realization of 75 years of studies and discussion about an improved, multi-lane highway connecting southwest Indiana. The route will reduce crashes in the region by more than 1,300 annually and generate a $4.1 billion economic impact over 20 years. When work is complete, I-69 will run continuously from the Canadian border at Port Sarnia, MI to Evansville, IN, with Indiana an important piece of the planned national corridor.
- I-65/I-70 North Split Reconstruction. The project is reconstructing the I-65 and I-70 interchange located in downtown Indianapolis. As one of the most heavily traveled interchanges in Indiana, many structures have exceeded their service life after nearly 50 years in operation. The approximated $383 million project is replacing 32 aging bridges and 27 miles of pavement. When complete, the North Split project will reduce congestion, improve safety for the community and travelers, and provide a maintenance-free infrastructure for decades to come. Comprised of four sections — the south leg, west leg, east leg, and interchange — this design-build project will replace all pavement, reconfigure the interchange into three levels, eliminate two ramp movements, replace numerous bridge structures, install a new drainage system, improve local streets, replace ITS facilities, and provide new aesthetic and landscape features.
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