INDIANAPOLIS — As construction equipment is coming down on the new Interstate 69 on the southwest side of Indianapolis, local businesses are popping up.
In August, the long-awaited project connecting I-69 to Interstate 465 will be completed. Business owners are getting ready to cash in.
"Very excited. We would like it to get done so maybe our business will improve," said Tina Kelley, manager of Indy's Burger Joint. "It's not bad right now, but we have a lot of people that get confused."
The confusion stemmed from all the construction signs in the area.
"We did put a sign up on the highway, you know, letting people know that we are out here," Kelley said.
The I-69 project has been years in the making. The goal was to connect Martinsville to Indianapolis, thus reducing travel time. Construction on the final stretch of I-69 from Evansville to Indianapolis started in 2019. It is fully funded by the governor's New Level Connections program.
"It is going to make it easier to get down the road. They have opened the end now, which is better," Kelley said.
So she is even more excited for the project to be finished and more customers to come in.
"We pulled through, and we are making it. We are going to keep pushing forward," Kelley said.
Construction will continue on I-465
While the interchange will open in August, construction will continue on I-465 as part of the Finish Line project.
INDOT said it started working on the new interchange site in 2022 as part of the I-69 Finish Line project, which upgrades more than 26 miles of State Road 37 to interstate standards through Morgan, Johnson and Marion counties.
The new interchange will consist of two flyover ramps connecting I-69 and I-465 just west of the existing State Road 37/Harding Street interchange.
Traffic officials said the newly constructed I-69 diverts from the current path of State Road 37 north of Edgewood Avenue. State Road 37, north of State Road 144, will officially become I-69 once the new interchange opens.