A $1.6 million project to rebuild the Interstate 65 exit at Whitestown Parkway will begin after Memorial Day, state and community officials said Friday.
A second turn lane will be added in each direction, helping to ease congestion that develops during rush hour. Construction is expected to be completed by September.
The interchange will not be closed, but there will be traffic restrictions, Whitestown Assistant Town Manager Tanya Sumner said in a news release.
Drivers are encouraged to use alternate routes, Sumner said. Traffic exiting and entering I-65 can use the state Route 267 interchange about two miles to the northwest. Local traffic can use Lafayette Road/Indianapolis Road to reach the I-65 interchange with 71st Street in Indianapolis, about six miles southeast.
No firm dates have been determined for the start of construction, she said. That information will be posted on the town’s Facebook page — www.facebook.com/Town-of-Whitestown-1452827331678142/. Construction updates also will be posted on the page.
“We would like to get the word out so our residents and Boone County drivers are aware of this project and prepared for it,” Sumner said in an email.
“This project is badly needed,” she added. “Exit 130 is already a congested area during rush hour, and new numbers out Thursday show that once again Whitestown is the fastest-growing community in the state of Indiana.”
Whitestown’s population is expected to double by 2020, Sumner said.
“This lane configuration project is vital for our residents and our businesses,” Whitestown Town Manager Dax Norton said. “It is needed to continue to attract future growth.”
The Indiana Department of Transportation is helping with funding for the project.