An overpass at Vernal Pike is under construction Wednesday as Ind. 37 is converted to I-69. Chris Howell | Herald-Times
There’s still at least a year’s worth of construction left, but for now, contractual issues that caused some work in Section 5 of what will be Interstate 69 to stop earlier this spring have been resolved.
“That’s not to say everything will go perfectly smooth from here on out,” said Gary Vandegriff, operations and maintenance manager with I-69 Development Partners. “It’s a big contract, and there’s a lot going on.”
The issues, which began in early March, were resolved two or three weeks ago, Vandegriff said. They related to delayed payment from Isolux Corsan USA to its subcontractors. Isolux has a contract with I-69 Development Partners to design and build the 21-mile section of interstate that primarily consists of upgrading an existing portion of Ind. 37 between Bloomington and Martinsville to interstate standards.
In early April, state department of transportation officials confirmed rumors that the project’s expected completion date had been moved back from the end of October 2016 to June 28, 2017.
The delay was blamed on difficulty in obtaining utility and environmental permits.
Above average rainfall this spring has also affected the pace of construction, Vandegriff said. The project requires that several embankments be built for overpasses and interchanges. Dirt that is wet can’t be compacted properly to create stable embankments.
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