This time of year is busy for IU students. It involves a lot of traveling due to graduation, going home for the summer and traveling to the airport. At some point, a lot of students are more than likely going to be traveling on I-69, the highway that connects Bloomington to Indianapolis. The road work of Section 5 of the major transformative process of turning State Road 37 into Interstate I-69 just wrapped up, but now Section 6 is beginning.

Section 6 is the area of the highway that connects Martinsville to Indianapolis. The project will cost approximately 1.5 billion dollars. It will provide 39 new bridges, rehabilitate 35 existing bridges, eliminate 14 traffic signals and establish 10 interstate access points.

Senior Madi Roberts says she is happiest that the construction will eliminate the traffic signals, because they add so much time to her travels to Indianapolis every Monday through Friday. She says she even travels on State Road 39 through Mooresville to avoid State Road 37 and the traffic lights all together occasionally. However, Roberts says she doesn’t know a time without construction on that route as long as she has been a student here. She says “It might be good in the end, but for now its frustrating.”

Cody Aliff, a resident of Martinsville says he is excited for the changes that the highway will bring to the town. He says the changes will be great, including the renovations to some of Martinsville’s sidewalks, traffic signals and gutter systems.

Many residents in Martinsville have lost their homes and businesses to the new renovations because the highway is being widened. Aliff’s friends owned a business alongside of the highway and lost it to the construction. However, Aliff says the government has done a good job to help those who have lost their land or structures.

Another noticeable change to the area is the trees down on the side of the road.There are hundreds of trees chopped down for miles along the roadside. Aliff says “The area around here is very woodsy and it is sad to see any of it be chopped down, but sometimes the sacrifice is worth it.”

A project overview, maps of closures and project updates are available on Indiana’s official website.  There are also options for the residents to call in or attend meetings to voice their concerns over the project.