GREENFIELD — Major closures on State Road 9 will begin on Monday, March 8, beginning a construction project that will involve months of traffic challenges in Greenfield.
Starting Monday and continuing through the end of May, State Road 9 will close in both directions from U.S. 40 to Davis Road while the Indiana Department of Transportation completes repair work and adds ADA-accessible sidewalks and ramps. Navigating the area will be difficult.
In a video posted to the Greenfield Police Department Facebook page this week, Capt. Chuck McMichael and Mallory Duncan, INDOT’s spokeswoman for east central Indiana, cautioned drivers about the need to be aware of and prepare for the closures. As the road work moves north on State Road 9 after the initial phase, traffic issues will last through late summer.
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Duncan emphasized that the road closure will mean motorists need to find an alternate route, and local access will not be available.
“We mean full closure; that means you’re not getting by in any sort of way,” she said.
INDOT has posted a detour route online that uses state roads, but Duncan said local drivers should feel free to use other routes to make their way around the closure. City engineer Jason Koch has said local traffic can use a detour route from Franklin Street to U.S. 40 to Davis Road, similar to the detour available when streets are closed during the Riley Festival.
The project is aimed at making driving safer on Greenfield’s main north-south thoroughfare. The main addition will be on the north side of the city: a median in the center of a portion of State Road 9 that will limit left turns; instead of turning directly into stores and restaurants, drivers will have to turn left at stop lights and navigate side streets or make U-turns at lights.
Other improvements will include base repairs; city-funded stormwater improvements; improvements to accessibility of curbs, sidewalks and ramps; and complete resurfacing.
For businesses in the vicinity of the construction, the lack of local access is a concern. Katrina Inman, owner of A Step Ahead Family Hair Care, 638 S. State Street, is worried her customers may have difficulty finding a way to the salon while the street is blocked off.
Inman said she received notice from INDOT’s contractor that the work could affect her business and is working on finding alternative ways for customers to access the alley opposite her location from another street.
“I think it’ll be fine,” Inman said. “We’re just hoping that it’ll all go as smoothly as they said it would.”
Park Cemetery, Hancock County Food Pantry and Shares Inc. also are located in the construction zone. Tom Ferguson, director of the food pantry, 741 S. State St., said he is communicating with the contractors about making sure clients can access the building.
“If there’s any issues, we’ll work them out,” he said. “…We’ll try to be open as many days as we can.”
In comments on Facebook, the police department said drivers will be able to access the cemetery, Shares Inc. and the food pantry off Davis Road. However, access may be restricted at certain times. Those will be among the few exceptions for minimal local traffic south of Tague Street. North of Tague, State Road 9 will be closed completely during this initial phase.
Other portions of State Road 9 are scheduled to close for construction later this year. From June through August, the work will shift north, with the road closed from Main Street to McKenzie Road.
When that section is complete, INDOT’s contractor will begin work on access control medians to be located between McKenzie Road and Interstate 70. The workers will remove the center two-way left turn lane and replace it with a 6-inch raised median. Access to State Road 9 will be right-in, right-out except at traffic signals. This construction will require the lanes closest to the median to be closed, so State Road 9 will be restricted to one northbound and one southbound lane during that portion of construction.
Final work on the road is scheduled to be complete by mid-September.
In another video posted to GPD Facebook page, Chief Jeff Rasche advised drivers to be patient with the construction work and plan their alternate routes in advance to avoid being surprised by the need for a detour.
“This will be great for our city once it is completed,” Rasche said.
For the latest updates on construction, follow the Greenfield Police Department on Facebook and INDOT on Facebook and Twitter.