Indiana Toll Road removes lane restrictions to ease holiday travel congestion

The Indiana Toll Road is removing all travel lane restrictions until spring 2011 to accommodate the busy winter travel time.

Seasonl spring, summer and fall projects on the Toll Road include repaving, road striping, bridge painting and other capital improvement projects.

“In an effort to ease congestion on one of the busiest travel days of the year, (the Indiana Toll Road Concession Co.) makes it a point that no construction will be done that requires closing of a travel lane during the Thanksgiving holiday, and on into the spring,” said Fernando Redondo, ITRCC chief executive
officer, in a statement Monday.

Road improvements will resume again in the spring and summer of 2011, including the 10-year bridge capital improvement plan, which aims to repair and rehabilitate a number of outdated structures on the Toll Road.

“As construction is a necessary part of road maintenance and improvement, this is an example of the type of procedures that we put in place on the ITR to ease travel and aid with traffic flow for our patrons,” Redondo said.

Exceptions during the winter season include the third-lane expansion project from milepost 10 to milepost 15.5, in which two lanes of traffic in each direction will remain open throughout the expansion project. However, the area remains a construction zone, and work zone speed limits of 45 mph will remain in place and enforced for this area.

The Indiana State Police remind drivers to use caution during this busy time, and to drive according to present road and weather conditions.