U.S. 31 project a key part of Indiana's Major Moves initiative

The newly renovated interchange at Veterans Parkway/Seventh Road and U.S. 31 in Plymouth, Indiana, represents more than a meaningful collaboration between the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Marshall County. The interchange also represents one of the final objectives of Indiana's Major Moves initiative.

Major Moves started under former Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2005 as a decade-long $2.6 billion plan to improve and expand the highway infrastructure in Indiana. The Veterans Parkway/Seventh Road interchange is part of the U.S. 31 project INDOT has undertaken as part of the Major Moves initiative.

“All interchanges are now open for the new U.S. 31 between South Bend in Plymouth,” INDOT Northwest District Media Relations Director Doug Moats said. “The new U.S. 31 is 20 miles of divided, four-lane highway between the U.S. 20 Bypass in South Bend and U.S. 30 near Plymouth.”
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The highway is accessed by four interchanges. In addition to the Veterans Parkway/Seventh Road interchange, access interchanges are at U.S. 6 in LaPaz, State Road 4 in Lakeville and Kern Road in South Bend. When the final 13 miles of the new highway open, a total of 32 traffic signals will have been removed saving an estimated half hour in travel time.

“The U.S. 31 projects near South Bend, Kokomo and Indianapolis are a key part of the Major Moves construction program supported by the 2006 lease of the Indiana Toll Road,” Moats said. “They are intended to reduce congestion, improve safety and provide continuity of commerce and regional travel for a U.S. highway that stretches from Michigan to Alabama.”

Although the interchanges on U.S. 31 are open, there is still some work to be done. Work on the final surface of the roadway is expected to continue into early 2016.