Hospital already making plans to deal with game day traffic at new Bloomington site

In February, the IU Health systems board of directors determined that building a replacement facility on the current hospital footprint along West Second Street would not be feasible. In April, hospital and university officials announced the two entities would join forces to combine health care delivery, education and research in one location, which happens to be along one of the main routes for IU football and basketball game traffic.

The bypass was recently expanded from two to four lanes, and that will make handling game day and hospital traffic easier to manage, said Tom Micuda, planning and transportation department director for the city of Bloomington.

“Fortunately, the bypass was widened, making us well positioned for capacity,” he said.

Ambulances, with their flashing lights and sirens, shouldn’t have any problem getting through, Morrison said.

“Ambulances take care of themselves,” he said.

The big concern is people driving themselves to the hospital. If you’re not in an emergency vehicle, no one is going to pull over to get out of your way. That’s why one lane in each direction will be designated for game traffic and the other lanes will be designated for through traffic.