Jacksonville, Florida-based Superior Construction has mostly completed the $399.5 million I-65/I-70 North Split Interchange project in Indianapolis, which aims to create a safer traffic flow and accommodate future growth. The North Split opened in 1976 and this is its first complete reconstruction, according to a Superior press release.
The final ramp from Ohio Street to College Avenue reopened on May 26, per the release. Indianapolis-based Janssen & Spaans Engineering was the design partner for the project, which broke ground in February 2021.
Indianapolis DOT commissioned the project to replace aging infrastructure and improve safety by eliminating the interstate’s patterns of many lane changes over a short distance, which led to more than 1,600 recorded crashes there from 2012 to 2016 alone. The new design creates a safer, more efficient traffic flow, according to the release.
Work entailed constructing 47 new bridges, widening three existing bridges and rehabilitating three additional bridges, as well as removing and repaving 35 lane miles of concrete pavement. The North Split project is the largest transportation project the firm has ever completed, according to the release. Superior is also known for its rapid rebuild of the Sanibel Causeway, which was battered by Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
Remaining work is aesthetic improvements like painting, landscaping and lighting. Superior will also install bridge monuments, resurface area streets and sidewalks and construct sound walls at the northeast corner of the interchange.
