Interstate Is Pushed Aside To Accommodate Airport Growth
The airport project is a stone's throw from Interstate 70. Now, the Indiana Dept. of Transportation, its designers and contractors are fast-tracking a two-year, $180-million realignment of a four-mile portion of the highway, including two new interchanges. In a first for the state, "We're developing plans as we go along and letting the contracts as designs develop," says Ronald Heustis, InDOT project manager.
The realignment and depression of I-70 will reconfigure it parallel to two existing runways and allow the airport to expand for a future runway and taxiway bridge. At points, the highway is just a few hundred feet from one of the runways, says Heustis. Shifting the alignment to the south will increase the distance from the runways to 1,300 ft.