What was left: A radiator lies in a cornfield in Clay County after a towing company pulled the wrecked semi it belonged to out of the field on Friday. Staff photo by Joseph C. Garza
Roadwork ahead
Several road construction projects are planned through the summer and into the summer of 2016.
The I-70 bridges over Sugar Creek and Clear Creek, as well as the Exit 3 ramp bridge to Old U.S. 30 are being replaced, and Old U.S. 40 is being resurfaced from just east of I-70 to near U.S. 150.
Work on I-70 at Indiana 46/U.S. 40, which started June 30, is for patching and resurfacing the interstate from 1 mile west to 1 mile east of that intersection.
Construction of the Indiana 641 bypass will also continue to impact motorists until fall 2016, and this year an I-70/Indiana 641 interchange ramp and a local service road will be constructed.
In Clay County, all of U.S. 40 from Indiana 340 on the west side through to WalMart on the east side of the town will undergo a pavement replacement project that lasts through summer 2016.
Also in Clay County, I-70 has a road construction project from the 23-mile marker at Indiana 59 to the Putnamville exit at Indiana 243 that has the left lane closed to traffic through August.
Other improvement projects are also possible along I-70 throughout the summer work season.
Watts and Calder both agree that their agencies have tried hard to make the construction zones safe for travelers, but it is up to motorists to be aware of traffic flow and unexpected stops.
“Drivers should always remember: If you see construction zone warning signs, you are probably going to have to slow or stop at some point, so be prepared,” Sgt. Watts said.
TERRE HAUTE — Travel the interstate at your own risk.
That seems to be the message many in the Wabash Valley give about traveling Interstate 70 during construction zone season.
Several accidents, including a fatality, have been investigated recently by the Indiana State Police at Putnamville, which monitors the four-lane highway from the Indiana-Illinois state line through Vigo, Clay and Putnam counties to the 58-mile marker at Hendricks County.
“The overwhelming cause of most of the accidents appears to be drivers failing to stop or slow for congested traffic and unsafe lane changes,” said ISP Sgt. Joe Watts.
That’s what happened on Thursday near the 20-mile marker when an eastbound semi failed to stop for congested traffic entering a construction zone. The semi struck the rear of a semi pulling two short trailers, and one of those trailers came loose and was pushed into a cornfield on the front of the semi that hit it.
A third semi was also involved in that crash, tying up traffic for at least 90 minutes while traffic was diverted onto local highways. All three drivers were injured.
Just two hours earlier, near the three-mile marker, an eastbound semi rearended another semi when traffic was stopped because of an unrelated collision near the seven-mile marker. One driver suffered serious injuries.
On July 14, a semi driver died when he failed to slow for westbound traffic that was entering a construction zone. His big rig hit another semi, which then hit a passenger car. The other drivers sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Staying alert to merging and slowing traffic is essential to safety.
On Friday, Kelly Robertson of Rolla, Mo., was traveling her once-monthly route to Ohio on I-70 and made a pitstop at the Pilot station at Indiana 46/U.S. 40.
“It’s actually not too bad because they’ve put up signage about the construction ahead,” she told the Tribune-Star.
But, traffic has been slow, she said.
Motorcyclists Maurice and Tina Cox agreed that traffic has been moving slowly on the interstate.
The couple was riding a Harley-Davidson from Columbus, Ohio, on their way to Tulsa, Okla.
Tina said she was unnerved at times by all of the traffic, especially the semi-trucks, but Maurice drives a big rig for a living so he is accustomed to changes in traffic flow.
“People just stop a lot,” he said.
Motorist Jerald Glick of Westfield was driving a pickup truck pulling a long trailer on his way to the Effingham area.
“I just go slower than normal,” he said of the construction zones, “and today it doesn’t bother me.”
Glick said it seems that roads everywhere are under construction. He said he recently went east to Washington D.C., and his route through Pennsylvania had numerous construction zones.
A quick trip along Interstate 70 in Vigo and Clay counties reveals numerous warning signs erected by the Indiana Department of Transportation, as well as visible police presence in the work zones.
“Each of our construction zones are patrolled by at least one trooper, with some zones assigned two troopers,” Watts said. “Troopers patrol the zones for overtime and are required to work within the zone at all times. ISP and INDOT officials believe the additional manpower is a success overall, but as with anything, you are going to have peaks and valleys with success.”
The number of fatal crashes so far this summer on the local stretch of Interstate 70 has already exceeded 2013 figures, but hasn’t yet come close to the deadly summer of 2012, when 10 fatalities were recorded in the first eight months of the year.
In the first eight months of 2012, about 247 collisions — including 194 property damage accidents, 47 personal injury accidents and 7 fatalities — were logged in a 69-mile stretch of I-70 by the ARIES crash recording system used by the state.
For 2013, the data showed 332 total collisions, with 290 property damage accidents, 40 collisions resulting in injury and two collisions resulting in fatalities. Of the 40 collisions resulting in injury, 53 people were injured.
The 2014 data through July 25 shows 253 total collisions, with 222 resulting in property damage, 28 resulting in injuries and three resulting in fatalities. Of the 28 collisions resulting in injuries, 43 total injuries were reported.
Debbie Calder, communications director for the Indiana Department of Transportation, said INDOT officials are also working to get the motoring public on I-70 to stay alert, slow down, and stop crashing.
“INDOT continues to use numerous signs alerting motorists to the construction work ahead and what exactly to expect and to watch for slowed or stopped traffic. INDOT has numerous dynamic message boards also giving information on work ahead and lanes closed,” Calder said.
“Most crashes result from drivers not paying attention, following too closely and/or driving too fast,” she continued. “INDOT attempts to educate motorists to obey the speed limits, minimize distractions, be attentive and not follow too closely in our work zones. INDOT also works closely with local law enforcement agencies to patrol in our construction. We have had great partnering with the Indiana State Police who continue to patrol our work zones daily on I-70.”
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