State Road 37 closing at Martinsville for Interstate 69 work

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Nearly 5 miles (8 kilometers) of State Road 37 in south central Indiana will be closed through most of 2021 to speed up construction work on the final segment of the Interstate 69 extension project.

The closure that's set to begin Saturday morning will allow highway construction crews to work faster and more safely to turn the state road into interstate lanes through Martinsville for the I-69 project. The Indiana Department of Transportation said the closure will allow work to be completed a full year sooner than if the agency tried to maintain limited access through the work zone.

The construction work will allow INDOT to take another big step toward connecting I-69 to Indianapolis' south side. The connection from the Martinsville area to Indianapolis is the sixth and final portion of a 142-mile link to connect Indianapolis to Evansville along the I-69 extension.

During the State Road 37 closure, an official detour for north-south state highway traffic follows State Roads 39, 67 and 144. INDOT is encouraging long-distance traffic to avoid the construction altogether and use alternate routes including Interstate 65, Interstate 70 and State Road 135.

Several east-west roads will remain open throughout the closure to provide local access across State Road 37, INDOT said.