Remembering Indiana’s Award-Winning Interstate 69 Finish Line Project
The 2025 Roads & Bridges Top 10 Awards submission deadline is fast approaching.
While R&B already highlighted past winners in our July/August print issue, we’re not done celebrating our favorite road and bridge projects from the past 25 years.
In 2022, Indiana’s Interstate 69 Finish Line earned the No. 1 Road Award. It was the final piece of an effort to connect Evansville and Indianapolis with over 142 miles of interstate.
The remaining 26-mile section was separated into six contracts, with one focusing on six miles of State Road 37 in Martinsville. This was the only portion of the project that required removing an existing highway and replacing it with an interstate.
The old route was heavily used and provided a crucial connection throughout the city. The Indiana Department of Transportation, working with the city of Martinsville, decided to fully close the road during construction. This saved about one year of construction time but called for traffic detours.
“Stormwater management was one of the most difficult design challenges to address,” senior project manager Tim Miller said. “The city of Martinsville’s own nickname is the ‘Artesians’ because of the abundance and quality of groundwater.”
The project team relocated and expanded Sartor Ditch to better drain stormwater from the city while State Road 37 was reconstructed. At least 16 utility companies were brought in to move utility lines along the highway.
Crews also built 11 new bridges in the area and erected noise barriers throughout Martinsville. The entire project cost $164 million and was headed by Walsh Construction.
“The community embraced the improved safety, mobility, and economic opportunity the project has afforded in the short time it has been open,” Roads & Bridges wrote in the original award article. “This project is a testament to the many years of planning by hundreds of engineers, planners, and the community it resides in.”
This year, the deadline to enter a project for Top 10 Awards consideration is Sept. 25. The nomination form can be found here.