The Lloyd4U project is designed to improve intersections along the expressway by modifying their layout in a few different ways.
Construction begins next spring and several property owners along the roadway will end up with a little less property due to construction.
This is because any time big changes are made to public roads, it’s possible property owners might have to sell some — or all — of that property to the government for the project to move forward.
In the case of the Lloyd4U project, there are some property owners on the east side and west side which will be selling ‘slivers’ of property so the project can proceed.
Public Outreach Manager Nicole Minton said the amount of property that might be needed depends on the footprint of the project.
“So in this case, the kind of improvements that are happening along the Lloyd4U project are pretty well staying within a general footprint,” she said, adding that the project footprint is small enough to avoid buying up any entire properties.
She said 74 properties will be impacted in overall. A total of 1.37 acres of land will be sold for east side projects.
“We hear from the people that say ‘that really should be an interchange,’ or ‘they should put an overpass there,’” Minton said. “Well, those types of facilities take more space. And that would require more impact to the homes and businesses around them.”
Some intersections will be converted to a “displaced left turn” where to make a left turn, the driver actually merges all the way over to the left side of the road.
“They are tricky when you first experience them. In the long run, I see the value,” Minton said. “They move much more traffic more efficiently, and they are safer. And so I think in the long run, people will appreciate the design, but kind of like a roundabout when you first experience it.”
She says these intersections don’t require vastly expanding the road compared to an expressway interchange.
The $150 million INDOT project is currently in the design phase.
Right now they’re firming up the date for west side project public hearings for late spring, and preparing environmental documents, said Minton.
For more information, go to thelloyd4U.com
East Side Improvements
Cross Point Boulevard will receive a displaced left turn and a new traffic signal at I-69.
Burkhardt Road will receive displaced left turns.
Stockwell Road will receive a displaced left turn and boulevard U-turn.
Vann Avenue will be a right turn in, right turn out street.
West Side ImprovementsThere are several intersections west of Wabash Avenue to receive modifications — including pavement and bridge replacement.
University Parkway, Rosenberger Avenue, St. Joseph Avenue and Wabash Avenue will receive “minor intersection improvements.”
Major intersection improvements will happen at McDowell, Schutte, Red Bank and Boehne Camp Roads along with Barker Avenue Interchange.