KNOX COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces lane closures for U.S. 41 in Oaktown.
Beginning on or around Monday, June 10, contractors will close the passing lanes of U.S. 41 north and southbound from about a half mile south of Freelandville Road to just about a mile north of Freelandville Road as contractors begin working on an intersection improvement project. As a part of this project, median u-turns will be installed at two locations on U.S. 41 at Freelandville Road/Maple Avenue and Old U.S. 41.
The project will use the existing roadway to install median u-turn configurations, which will eliminate the through and left-turning movements. Workers will also remove the crossovers at the existing intersections and place the new dedicated U-turns within the median immediately north and south of both intersections. The project also calls for lanes to allow for queuing and deceleration.
Work on this phase is expected to be complete by early to mid August depending upon weather conditions with work to follow at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Old U.S. 41. During the project, the passing lanes on U.S. 41 will be closed around the clock. INDOT urges drivers to slow down and stay alert near crews.
About Median U-Turns
Nationwide, statistics show a more than 50 percent decline in crashes where median u-turns are installed. Fatal crashes decline by as much as 85 percent.
In June 2015, INDOT opened its first median u-turn intersection at U.S. 41 and State Road 114 in Northwest Indiana. From 2008-2015, the intersection averaged four crashes a year with almost 40% of those reported as injury crashes, including one fatality. In the first year of operation for the median u-turn, the intersection experienced one minor crash, and no injuries or fatalities.
In 2011, INDOT widened U.S. 231 in Spencer County to four lanes, and for the first three years, there were at least four deaths and nine injuries at the intersections with S.R. 62 and S.R. 68. Since the intersections were converted to median u-turns in the summer of 2016, no serious injuries or fatalities have occurred at either location.
You can read more about median u-turns at https://www.in.gov/indot/3660.htm.