Why I Like INDOT Better Every Day

I would never make it in politics. My opinions on most topics are too strong and I am not ashamed of voicing them loudly. Anyone that has read through many of my transportation pages knows that one of the topics I have strong opinions on is transportation. Often, this has led me to be critical of various highway and transit agencies.

One of the primary targets of my ire has been the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). It is proposing many major road projects that I disagree with and I have not backed down in stating my disagreements. But this can give the impression that I hate INDOT when I in fact do not. I actually am very pleased with a lot of things INDOT is doing.

Just yesterday I started thinking a bit about all the changes I have seen in INDOT over the last 15-20 years and how much things have improved at that agency. When I started organizing my thoughts, I realized they deserved their own web page.

Anyone who has been driving Indiana's roads in the last ten years knows the major improvements that have occurred. I believe a lot of this is due to changes at INDOT. Here are a few of the major improvements I have seen:

• Back in the 1970's and 1980's, Indiana's roads were in terrible shape. I remember that along some stretches of interstate, the pavement in the right lane was in such bad shape I (or in the time before I was old enough to drive, my father) was almost forced to drive in the left. But from the late 1980's forward, INDOT has done a great job of improving the quality of roads in the state. Very little of the interstate system is still in poor condition (and there are programmed projects to improve those). Many surface arterials have been resurfaced or otherwise upgraded. There has definitely been a turnaround in road conditions in this state and INDOT deserves a lot of the credit.

• Not only have pavement conditions have gotten better, so has the overall quality of the roadway design. In years past, INDOT would resurface a road by simply removing the old asphalt surface and applying a new one. Now when INDOT does an interstate rehabilitation, it replaces bridge decks (and widens them when necessary to provide full shoulders), upgrades the roadways shoulders, replaces all road signs, etc. There has also been a trend away from simple rehabilitation of some the worst pavement stretches towards a complete roadway reconstruction. This emphasis on quality has been noticed nationally. INDOT just won a prestigious national quality award for the I-65 reconstruction on the north side of Indianapolis and was a runner up in 1995 for a similar rehab of I-465 on the South Side.

• There is now much more thought put into the asethetics of roadway design. In the past, INDOT seemed to consider roads a purely utilitarian device. It did not seem to realize or care that major roads have a large impact on the visual environment of the state. Recently though, INDOT has implemented several projects that have really raised the bar in terms of creating attractive roadways. It is still not quite to the level of some other states, but INDOT is improving rapidly in this area.

• INDOT changed its policies on sidewalk installation along state roads. The former policy was not to include any sidewalks on any state road project unless an existing sidewalk was replaced during reconstruction or unless the local government where the road ran requested and paid for the sidewalks. Now INDOT has a policy in place that allows them to add sidewalks to state roads when they feel it is warranted. Many miles of sidewalks have been installed during road projects as a result of this policy change.

• There has also been a new focus on multi-modalism. That is, creating an integrated surface transportation system out of Indiana's rail, road, public transit, pedestrian, and bicycle facilities. Part of this came as a result of a federal mandate. But INDOT also reorganized to make it happen. In previous years, INDOT was focused on non-highway transportation while a separate state agency - the Department of Highways - took care of the roads. Now all state transportation agencies are under one departmental umbrella, and INDOT is taking multi-modalism seriously.

• The role of the public in transportation projects and planning is greater than ever. There have been a number of projects that have actually had substantive changes made to them as a result of public comments. The amount of openness INDOT has towards the public is amazing. INDOT people have provided me with all the documentation and information I have ever requested without complaint or stonewalling. Often they have also spent a good amount of time discussing various projects with me. INDOT is demonstrating the way government should behave towards its citizens.

Here are a few examples of various specific projects where the "new" INDOT has done a great job:

• Borman Expressway Upgrades - INDOT has embarked on an ambitious plan to improve all of the interchanges and overhead bridge structures on the Borman. The interchanges at Calumet Ave., Indianapolis Bvld., and Kennedy Ave. have been completely redesigned and reconstructed. A $90 million project at Cline Ave. is planned, and INDOT is also marching further eastward with several other planned interchange and bridge projects. This is a vital first step towards widening what is one of the busiest roads in the state because nearly all of the original overhead bridge structures are too narrow to accommodate any additional travel lanes. All of the new bridges provide much greater horizontal clearance.

• Southeast I-465 Reconstruction Project - 30 years of traffic and harsh Indiana winters have taken their toll on the southeast quadrant of I-465. Dilapidated pavement and substandard interchanges greet motorists as they drive through this area. INDOT could have just done some minor patching and slapped down a new coat of asphalt. Instead, it developed at $110+ million project to completely replace the pavement and interchanges. This project will create an essentially brand new roadway designed to modern standards. I have a large section of my Indianapolis major investment projects page devoted to this excellent proposal. The project will be constructed from 1999 to 2001.

• I-65/SR 46 Interchange - Columbus is a city blessed with great architecture. When INDOT reconstructed the main interchange serving Columbus, they showed great sensitivity to this heritage with an interesting new design. The basic design was an urban single point. In order to provide the necessary clearance for all of the ramps to come together at a single point under I-65, INDOT leaned two steel arches together and cantilevered the I-65 bridge decks off of it. The arches extend to a goodly height above I-65, and provide an interesting display for passing motorists to enjoy. I have seen several advertisements for Columbus related items that are already using this interchange as a reference landmark and symbol of the city.

• West 56th St. Bridge Replacement - The state replaced and widened this bridge from two to four lanes. Pretty standard, but they also included both a sidewalk and extra wide bicycle path across the bridge, and did a number of things to make this look better than your average overpass. I like the project so much that I wrote a letter to the commissioner of INDOT letting him know how much I liked it.

• I-69/82nd St. Interchange Modification - This $3 million project probably provided more bang for the buck than any other state road project I can remember. 82nd St. was widened under I-465 to six through lanes. Plus, all ramps were widened, providing dual turn lanes in all directions. But not only was the capacity of the interchange improved, INDOT included sidewalks in the project, and used attractive stone work for a retaining wall along the I-69 bridge abutments. This was yet another project I liked so well that I wrote a letter to the commissioner of INDOT telling him how much I liked it.

• I-465/Michigan Rd. Interchange Modification - INDOT added an upgrade to this interchange to its proposal to widen Michigan Rd. north of I-465. This was after a public hearing on the project where large numbers of citizens expressed their concerns about this interchange. Also, INDOT added some sidwalks at the north end of the road widening project in response to public comment. This goes to show that INDOT is now taking public feedback seriously in the design of its roadway projects.

There are still a lot of improvements I think INDOT needs to make. But it has made a tremendous amount of progress, which is impressive for a state bureaucracy. On the whole, my main request for future improvement would simply be "more, more, more". I would like to see many of the principles I outlined above be integrated into all INDOT's projects. Till that day comes, I will probably continue to be just as critical about things I do not like as I am not. (Hopefully I will remember to be just as vocal about praising the things I do like). But at the rate INDOT is making progress, hopefully it will not be too far in the future when I will find myself with little to complain about.

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