Your commute along the Lloyd Expressway could become quicker and safer. At least that’s the goal of five projects unveiled Friday by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The agency is moving forward with the projects after a year-long study looking into traffic flow along the heavily traveled road.
The projects change traffic configuration at major intersections along the expressway. The most notable changes will take place on Evansville’s east side.
The intersection of Vann Ave. and the Lloyd will become “right in, right out,” which means that only right-hand turns will be allowed.
A displaced left turn, also called a continuous flow intersection, will be put in place on Burkhardt Rd. Vehicles wanting to turn left would cross opposing traffic before they reach the intersection. This eliminates the need for a left-turn signal.
A similar pattern, with what INDOT calls a median U-turn included, will be added to the Lloyd at Cross Pointe Blvd.
Intersections on Evansville’s west side will also see some changes. The left-turn lane at two west side intersections, St. Joseph Ave. and Rosenberger Ave., will be extended.
INDOT says the new configurations may be confusing to drivers but will make the roads safer and travel smoother.
The changes will occur at the same time as other INDOT projects along the expressway, including bridge work and pavement rehabilitation, according to the transportation agency. INDOT expects the cost of all projects to be around $65 million.
Bidding for the projects will take place in 2024. The chosen contractors will decide whether construction will start that same year, according to INDOT spokesman Jason Tiller.
Unrelated to the corridor study but also affecting Lloyd Expressway traffic, INDOT announced changes to the intersection of the Lloyd at Epworth Rd. INDOT calls it a hybrid intersection —part displaced left turn, part U-turn. Bidding for that project will take place in 2021.
The agency says it will hold public hearings to ask for input and educate drivers about the new traffic patterns.
In a press release, Evansville mayor Lloyd Winnecke encouraged residents to participate in the meetings.
Winnecke added that he visited a continuous flow intersection with two city transportation officials.
“We were able to get a first-hand look at what a continuous flow intersection looks like,” Winnecke said in the release. "It moves a high volume of traffic in a smooth, easy way."
Winnecke wasn’t the only official to speak approvingly of the planned changes. Deputy mayor Steve Schaefer took to Twitter to thank INDOT for its work.
“As someone who uses the Vann intersection every day, the proposed fixes may cause my daily route to be altered, but worth it if safety improves on the Lloyd,” Schaefer wrote.
Not all local officials are happy with the news from INDOT.
“I personally object to the lessening of design standards on the Lloyd,” Vanderburgh County commissioner Cheryl Musgrave wrote in a text message to WNIN. “We had been working toward no stoplights. These plans do not achieve that goal. These plans pretty much guarantee we will never see another overpass on the Lloyd.”
Musgrave voiced concerns on multiple occasions last year about the agency’s suggestions for the Lloyd Expressway.
Commissioners in Warrick and Vanderburgh counties passed resolutions late last summer opposing drafts of what were at the time suggestions for intersection changes as part of INDOT’s corridor study. The plans announced Friday are very similar to those drafts. A similar resolution failed to pass Evansville’s city council.