Motorists again using U.S. 231; Work on U.S. 36 to begin Monday
If you, like hundreds of other motorists, drove U.S. 231 between Greencastle and U.S. 36 on Friday, you should know something.
The Indiana Department of Transportation has not officially reopened the road.
Sure, the barricades are moved and both human and animal travelers on the road are using it again — as two pieces of roadkill will attest.
But until the road is striped, the official word from INDOT is the road is closed.
In the meantime, no one is keeping drivers off the road, and a 40 mph speed limit should be observed.
An INDOT official from the Crawfordsville office informed the Banner Graphic Friday afternoon that stripes should be painted on Monday.
Chip and seal preservation on the seven-mile stretch of Putnam County’s only real north-south thoroughfare began on Monday and was slightly delayed by weather that afternoon. Other than that, crews have had pretty good weather for completing the work, which included applying stone and oil for a new surface, sweeping the road of excess stone and fog sealing the surface.
The final step will be the striping.
With work not quite complete, the end of the job will actually overlap a similar project set for U.S. 36 from the 231 intersection to Rockville, a distance of 18 miles.
INDOT announced that work earlier this week. Weather permitting, the process will begin on Monday and last through Thursday.
The work on 36 is not set to involve a complete closure of the road, which was the case at times on 231. However, motorists should expect long delays.
During construction the speed limit will be reduced to 40 mph.
Drivers can expect lane restrictions and traffic directed by flaggers while INDOT maintenance crews maintain access for vehicles. Motorists are urged to seek an alternate route.
However, this may prove difficult, as this stretch of U.S. 36 is currently the official INDOT detour for work being completed on both State Road 236 and State Road 59.
There is no official detour for the U.S. 36 work.
If driving through the chip seal work zone, drivers should take extra caution, drive slowly and allow additional space between vehicles to prevent stone chips from damaging windshields or paint.
Like on U.S. 231, once the chip seal has cured, crews will sweep the highway clear of loose stone, apply a fog seal surface coat and paint pavement markings.
While some drivers have expressed frustration over the use of chip-seal treatment, INDOT defends the practice as cost effective.
INDOT cites national research that has shown that every $1 used to preserve Indiana roadways saves $6 to $14 in future costs.
After years of heavy traffic and winter freeze-thaw cycles, small cracks typically develop in our highways. If left untreated, moisture seeps into these cracks and form potholes when water freezes and expands. As the name implies, a chip-seal treatment seals off the cracks.
The stone chips provide improved traction for stopping, especially during winter.