End in sight for SR 37 project in Fishers after city, county up ante

John Tuohy, Indianapolis Star
·2 min read

Fishers plans to begin work next spring on the 141st Street intersection of State Road 37, signaling an end to a massive reconstruction project that began five years ago.

Mayor Scott Fadness said the city will select a construction company in the spring, with work starting immediately to build a roundabout interchange.

“We are going to build this thing in the coming year,” Fadness said at a recent city council meeting.

The announcement should temper fears by motorists and businesses that the roundabout would never be built and, instead, temporary restrictions on turning would be the permanent solution.

Since January, motorists have only been able to turn right when they exit and enter State Road 37 and cannot cross the state road on 141th Street. The city enacted the measure so a stoplight could be removed to provide a signal-free trip from 116th Street to 146th on the rebuilt road.

The intersection, the last in the project that has added several roundabout interchanges, was supposed to be finished by now.

The State Road 37 has had delays of finishing reconstruction because of high costs related to inflation. The city had to rejected all contractor proposals to make 141st Street a roundabout exit because the prices submitted were too high. The intersection was scheduled to be the last to be competed at the end of 2023. Work is ongoing at all the other intersections. Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in Indianapolis.

But the city delayed awarding a construction contract last year when all three bids for the projects came in above its estimated price of $26.6 million. This time around, the city and Hamilton County both upped their contribution from $13.3 million to $20 million, for a budgeted total of $40 million, said Ashley Elrod a city spokeswoman.

Officials are optimistic that will be enough for the expected bids, which came in last time at $49.4 million, $39.9 million, and $32.9 million.

Fadness said before work begins officials want to make sure a split-level roundabout and overpass at Allisonville Road and 146th Street, a county project, is close to being done.

“I want to be very careful at the start of this project not to completely gridlock the whole northwest side of the city,” Fadness told the council at the meeting. “I want that to be somewhat in the realm of manageable before we start tearing up 141st.”

The $160 million State Road 37 project, which began in 2018, was already over budget and behind schedule before the last delay.

The cost was originally estimated at $124 million, with a $100 million stake by the Indiana Department of Transportation and contributions of $12 million by Fishers and the county. The city and the county have been equally responsible for covering the overruns.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Email at john.tuohy@indystar.com and follow on Twitter and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: End in sight for SR 37 project in Fishers after city, county up ante