Way ahead of time road construction note re: I-65 and I-465 on the south end of Indy
Posted by aldctjoc

Hello. There is some construction to potentially plan for **IF** it goes beyond it's scheduled end date. 

On the south side of Indianapolis, there will be a closure of part of I-465 Westbound. See image below. 

The construction is scheduled to finish by July 29. So if that works out, then this should NOT be a problem for any of us. 

But... that's the Saturday before the Con. What if construction goes long? Then you'll want to plan for it if you'll be affected by it. 

Who's affected? Drivers on I-65 North or South who want to exit onto I-465 West. 

What's the detour: I-70 West.

If you're on I-65 North coming up from, say, Louisville or further south, then you'll have to go past I-465 and keep going north to I-70.

If you're on I-65 South going from downtown, then you'll have to turn around and head back up to I-70. You won't be able to exit West. Or don't head down that far to begin with; just take I-70 west from downtown from the start. 

Can I-65 drivers exit to I-465 East? From what I'm reading, yes. That's not closed. 

Again: Look at the map. It makes everything much more clear than text explanations. 

Posted by aldctjoc

More links:


  • https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/transportation/2023/05/31/indianapolis-traffic-updates-i465-lane-ramp-closures-2023/70224912007/
  • https://i69finishline.com/i-465-closures-planned-for-june-and-july-on-the-southwest-side-of-indianapolis/
  • https://i69finishline.com/i465construction/

And for when you travel, this link is a somewhat close to realtime map of routs and construction:

  • https://511in.org/

Posted by fritzbgb

Just to complicate things:

While the Westbound lanes are not scheduled to close until July 7, the Eastbound lanes are scheduled to be closed June 2-21.  I fear that if that part runs long, it might delay the Westbound construction; there's a two-week "buffer" (June 21-JUly 7) between the scheduled closures but you never know what kind of delays weather and other circumstances may cause.

Even if it goes as planned, this is going to be an enormous mess to us people that live in Indy while it's going on.

The links aldctjoc gave above are the best way to keep up with what's going on.

Posted by aldctjoc

Yep, a huge mess. 

I'm going to be going through that mess at least twice myself, the first time next week when I'm going to Indianapolis, the next sometime late July when I go through towards Ohio. I wonder if I can time it for the westbound closure, just to see and document what the detour is. That might help Gen Con goers who're driving in.

One thing I didn't mention was that this'll also affect I-69 travelers coming up from the south (but again, only if it runs long). That's something people should note if they're driving up that route this August.

I have to say, I don't think this will be as impactful as last year's I-70 closure. That made life difficult for those hoteling out by the airport. This one people will probably not experience at all, but if they do, it'll only be when driving in and leaving. 

There's some construction between the North and South split, I think. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. 

Whew! Construction season... it's always a mess. 

Posted by fritzbgb

The Eastbound lanes reopened this week more or less as scheduled.

As far as I can tell, after rechecking the links above, the Westbound closures are on schedule for July 7-29.  If so, they'll be reopened before Gen Con.

I find out anything differently I'll post it here.

Posted by aldctjoc

Good update. 

I drove up two weeks ago on I-69 and saw the 465 exit closed off. We'll see how the westbound closure goes. I should be driving up north again in a couple of weeks from now, I'll see how things are.

Good to see that there weren't any delays with the first half of that work. Fingers crossed for the second. 

Posted by fritzbgb

Can confirm that the Westbound lanes closed more or less on schedule;  it seemed like the red  lines didn't show up in my phone's traffic-enabled map app until Friday night, but I saw with my own eyes today that the lanes are definitely closed.

Fingers crossed for getting it done on time, like the Eastbound work was.

Posted by fritzbgb

Little late because of computer problems, but here goes:  the Westbound lanes on 465 did reopen on schedule.  I rode with a friend who was going to Greenwood Friday evening, and both directions were open.

Posted by aldctjoc

Yeah, I drove up yesterday; just haven't had time to post yet. I didn't actually drive 465 West, but I saw all the traffic in that direction. 

I think I read that it opened a day early. I'll have to go look for that article.

I'll need to do things later this afternoon/evening. I'll see how that interchange is. 

Also: I didn't run into construction on the parts of I-70 I was on. The interstates should be reasonably clear for Gen Con goers driving in.

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