jcovington

Many interesting posts on this thread. Figured I'd add one about the nearest major city to me, Indianapolis, IN... nicknamed the Crossroads of America. Several interstates run through (or around) Indianapolis... those being I-70 (east - west), I-65 (northwest - south), I-74 (northwest - southeast), and I-69 (northeast - soon to be southwest). We also have I-465 that is a belt around the city, and I-865 on the northwest side which connects the belt to I-65. There are many good points about the design of our highway system, and unfortunately many bad points. I'll start with the good First, the placement of the highway system is near perfect, especially in downtown. Indianapolis has a very picturesque skyline, and the highway system allows you to view this skyline from northwest all the way around to southwest. The interstates spider out in all directions from Indianapolis, making it relatively easy for anyone in the State of Indiana to reach the capitol city in 110 minutes or less.... and this is being expanded upon right now as U.S. 31 to the north is being upgraded to interstate over the next few years. Additionally, an extension to I-69 to the southwest (to Evansville) is being planned. The final route has been decided upon, now its just a matter of mitigating problems such as agricultural and environmental concerns along the route so they can begin construction. However, while the placement is near perfect, the roads themselves leave much to be desired. Unlike other major cities in the US, our interstates are usually no wider than 3 lanes in each direction.... and immediately go down to 2 lanes each way upon leaving Indianapolis. These highways simply do not meet the traffic needs for a city and region growing as quickly as central Indiana, as they were obsolete prior to completion. I-465 around Indianapolis was originally routed through entirely rural area, but by the time it was completed, Indianapolis had expanded outside the belt on all sides. By the time they completed adding a third lane each way to 465, it needed two more. Another example is I-70 from downtown to the airport... which even now is only 2 lanes in each direction. They're putting hundreds of millions of dollars into improvements at the airport, including a whole new terminal system, yet the route to get to the heart of the city is narrow and jam packed with traffic. In the last few years they've started to upgrade I-465 again, with a bit more foward thinking approach. Now they're going to a minimum of 5 lanes each direction, all the way around the city. However when the upgrade to U.S. 31 to the north, and the extention of I-69 to the southwest are completed, the thru traffic will also be routed to I-465 just as I-74 already is. Most likely this will again be too much traffic for a single highway. As of yet I've heard of no plans to improve I-70 and I-65 through the city. I can only hope that in the not-too-distant future they will. Thanks for reading jcovington