The Indiana Department of Transportation is preparing for major traffic flow improvements on a 14-mile stretch from the I-80/I-94 interchange in Illinois east to the I-65 interchange in Merrillville, Indiana.
It is estimated that each day 160,000 vehicles travel that stretch, known as the Borman Expressway in honor of astronaut Frank Borman who was born in Gary, Indiana. According to InDOT numbers, about 30% of those vehicles are trucks.
Work also will include the stretch along I-80/I-94 from the interchange with I-394 east to the Illinois/Indiana state line. On the Illinois side, the estimate is closer to 200,000 vehicles on that stretch daily.
along a stretch of Interstate 80/94. (Contributed photo)
Toby Randolph, project manager, told an audience at an Aug. 15 meeting at the Irwin Center in Homewood, that the roadway dates to the 1950s. There’s no way to add more lanes but by using a Transportation Systems Management Operations (TSMO) system some traffic could use the inside shoulder to alleviate traffic congestion at peak hours.
TSMO offers improved traffic flow using better signage, road monitoring and ramp metering. It’s being used in Minnesota, Georgia, South Dakota, Michigan, Maryland and Washington and is helping reduce travel times and fuel consumption.
InDOT has named this I-80 project Flex Road. Planners say travel times will be reduced, increasing reliability and improving safety along one of the busiest stretches of road.
traffic flow along a stretch of Interstate 80/94. (Provided photo)
The $290-million project is set to begin in summer 2025. Four lanes of I-80/I-94 will be open in both directions most of the time. The work includes installing overhead information boards, or gantrys, that will inform drivers of problems ahead and give indications of when lanes are closed. The information boards will be every half-mile. Four will be along the Illinois roadway.
The information boards will indicate variable speed limits that will be adjusted based on real time traffic roadway incidents, work zones and weather conditions helping to reduce congestion.
Ramp metering will be added so that entering I-80 will match road capacity. This is intended to help improve merging and reduce crash rates.
Randolph said on the Indiana side, major improvements will be made at the Broadway exit, and the two-lane exit ramp onto I-65 south will become three lanes.
