HANCOCK COUNTY — An unexpected repair to Interstate 70 that caused the state to shut down parts of the highway between Greenfield and Knightstown over the weekend was mostly caused by semis driving halfway off the road in a work zone, an Indiana Department of Transportation spokeswoman says.
The closures, which occurred for more than 30 hours in three separate instances from Saturday morning to Monday morning, caused eastbound traffic to route off I-70 and onto State Road 9 in Greenfield on Saturday and onto Mt. Comfort Road Sunday. Both detours routed drivers onto U.S. 40.
Traffic was so heavy in both roads that police had to direct traffic in places, and social media was rife with complaints and advice about the best side roads to use to avoid all the congestion.
I-70 reopened shortly after 6 a.m. Monday.
Contractors last week had already started restricting drivers to the left lane of eastbound I-70 near mile marker 109 for a road patching project. Drivers were directed to drive on part of the shoulder in the left lane throughout that 10-mile work zone, said Mallory Duncan, a spokeswoman for INDOT.
Duncan said some truck drivers veered off the side of the shoulder and onto the dirt to avoid rumble strips. That heavy traffic off the edge of the shoulder, in addition to moisture under the road, caused the shoulder to buckle, making the road unsafe for drivers, Duncan said.
Before INDOT contractors set up the work zone, they tested the shoulder to make sure it was safe and secure for drivers. Those tests indicated the surface was sound, she said.
About 900 feet of the shoulder needed immediate repair, Duncan said, but contractors chose to mill and repave about 2,500 feet of the shoulder in the work zone, reinforcing it for drivers during construction. Duncan said crews added two layers of stone and then covered the area with a new asphalt surface.
The 10-mile work zone, which will still be under construction for about a week, is part of a massive road patching project along both sides of I-70, from Mt. Comfort Road to the Ohio state line, about 120 miles round-trip. Construction will last through November.
Duncan said contractors will continue to test the interstate’s shoulder as they move to each 10-mile work zone for the road patching project; she called the repairs needed over the weekend “unforeseen.”
Many drivers were caught off guard late Saturday morning when the eastbound lanes seemed to abruptly shut down just east of the Greenfield exit. Drivers, many of whom were stuck on the highway for an extended period of time, had to maneuver onto State Road 9 and take a detour on U.S. 40.
Don Hull, who owns Hometown Comics & Games at 1040 N. State St. (State Road 9), said he saw a “parade” of vehicles “creeping and crawling” down the main thoroughfare most of Saturday.
The first closure lasted a few hours Saturday morning. INDOT later shut down lanes again from 4 p.m. to about 10 p.m. that evening, and then for a third time on Sunday morning. That closure started shortly after 7 a.m. on Sunday and ended at 6:30 a.m. Monday, according to the Hancock County 911 Center. It shut down lanes for nearly 20 miles, from Mt. Comfort Road to State Road 109.
Greenfield Police Chief Jeff Rasche said it was a difficult weekend for officers on both the day and night shifts. Police directed traffic for about 14 to 15 hours straight on Sunday, Rasche said, and they rotated officers during that time to give breaks. Indiana State Police troopers assisted Greenfield officers, too.
Some officers “took some grief” from drivers passing through Greenfield on State Road 9 and U.S. 40, Rasche said. One officer told Rasche that he’s never been “cussed out” that much in one day.
“It was one big headache,” Rasche said.
