After three-and-a-half months of construction, Lowell Road is now open to traffic between U.S. 31 west to just short of County Road 200W.
But drivers still won’t be allowed to use Lowell, in conjuction with County Road 325W, as a shortcut between Highway 31 and State Road 46 West for another few months.
Since the eastern section of Lowell Road was closed May 28, crews have widened it along an area surrounded by existing or future housing projects. Curbs and storm water infrastructure improvements have been installed, city engineer Andrew Beckort said. In addition, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps either have been or will be installed.
But the first phase of the $3 million federally-funded project isn’t finished. Flaggers will be directing traffic through the area as crews complete the installation of a five-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of Lowell Road, Beckort said. Plans also call for a 10-foot multi-use side path on the south side of Lowell Road.
Once all major work has been completed, a final layer of asphalt will be applied, Beckort said.
Crews also have moved to the second phase, which involves the installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Lowell Road and County Road 200W.
While there will be access for local traffic only to Drummond Drive, the city engineer said no thru traffic will be permitted to pass through the intersection from any direction while the roundabout is under construction. That’s why Lowell Road and County Road 325W still can’t be used as a bypass.
Weather permitting, work on the roundabout should be completed in about 60 days, Beckort said.
Bartholomew County government will eventually continue improvements west on Lowell Road for another 1.2 miles to the Lowell Bridge. The county plans to widen the shoulders and improve curves to meet established standards for the volume of traffic, county highway engineer Danny Hollander said.
Federal transportation funds won’t become available for that project until late 2026, so construction won’t get underway until 2027, according to Hollander.
In March 2023, it was announced that Bartholomew County will receive $5,520,000 for the Lowell Bridge replacement, while a separate grant of $2,397,600 will be provided to reconfigure the southern approach to the future new bridge from County Road 325W.
Estimates for a new bridge have run as high as $11 million. In order for county government to receive the federal money, they will have to come up to 20% of the grant for the bridge replacement and 10% for the reconfiguration, Hollander added. The county is considering options to secure the matching funds.
Although the Indiana Department of Transportation plans to improve the Interstate 65 overpass on Lowell Road, Hollander said INDOT won’t have the project on their immediate work schedule until at least 2030.
