WESTFIELD, Ind. — Heads up for commuters heading home to Westfield, Noblesville and Sheridan after work. A bridge closure on US 31 northbound is causing long delays every evening.
From now until June 21, the section of US 31 that crosses over 191st Street is being completely shut down for construction work from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every weekday.
The shutdown went into effect Monday and has led to traffic jams on northbound US 31 as all three lanes are closed and drivers are forced to exit at 191st Street and detour around the bridge.
This closure is just north of where US 31 crosses State Road 32 in Westfield. Northbound drivers exiting State Road 32 onto US 31 were finding themselves immediately stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic that crawled at a snail's pace until the 191st Street exit, a stretch less than two miles.
The northbound US 31 detour simply forces everyone to exit onto 191st and then reenter the northbound entry ramp to US 31, diverting the bridge entirely.
On Tuesday, impatient drivers were even spotted speeding down the shoulder on US 31 in an attempt to cut the northbound traffic and exit at 191st, likely not realizing that all drivers were being forced to exit the highway as well.
The Indiana Department of Transportation said the nightly shut down is expected to continue every weekday until June 21.