INDIANAPOLIS — Major construction changes are coming to the southwest side of Indianapolis.
The eastbound lanes of I-465 between I-65 and I-70 will be fully closed to traffic. Several ramps along eastbound I-465 will also be closed.
The detour will follow I-70 eastbound to I-65 southbound at the South Split.
"I can't stress this enough, please slowdown in work zones," said James Hopson, a foreman at RoadSafe Traffic Systems.
Hopson and his co-worker were hit by an alleged drunk driver in the early morning hours on May 13. They were in an open bed truck on I-465 westbound near the 3-mile marker in Marion County, picking up orange barrels.
"I don't remember too much because it happened so fast, but from what I remember we got to a point where we stopped and we were parked and we both were on the back of the truck," said Hopson. "I literally just went to get a ring and when I went to swing onto the barrel, next thing I know I'm on the shoulder."
State police charged the driver, Thomas Moon, with serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated - a felony.
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Police say Moon slammed into the back of the construction vehicle with so much force, it propelled Hopson and his co-worker into the air and onto the ground.
"My basic instinct was basically just jump over the guardrail just to basically get out of dodge," said Hopson.
Hopson remembers the driver laying on the ground next to him.
"I actually heard the guy that was the driver asking us, 'Hey, is everybody alright?' He bent over me because I was laying down on my back and I could actually smell alcohol on his breath. Once I smelled that, I kind of got mad because like, 'C'mon,'" said Hopson.
Hopson said this isn't the first close call he's experienced.
Another time, he was working on the North Split.
"All of a sudden, one of my guys started honking and a car passed me like super close, maybe about five feet from me, and he was probably going at least 60-65 (mph) inside of a closure," he said. "One thing that irritates me being on the road, like, being as a worker is even though the limit is either 45 or 55 (mph) at a work site, we could still see people going like 65, 70 mph and that's even when we're on the shoulder with our lights on and everything."
A scary situation Hopson hopes never happens again. His injuries from his recent encounter left him out of work temporarily.
"It still hurts every now and again like to a painful extent," said Hopson.
He's getting better every day.
"Thankfully, I had no broken bones, but it definitely could have been a lot worse," said Hopson. "I still have a mother and father and of course they want me to come back home alive and they want me to be as safe as possible."
Reasons why he stresses this message to drivers.
"All we can really do is keep bringing awareness to it and just pray that everybody just slows down in work zones and make sure they look out for everybody," said Hopson.