Rockville Road sees upwards of 58,000 cars per day. Originally redesigned in the 1970s for a mere 28,000, it is the second transcontinental highway in the United States and has existed in some form since 1915. Naturally, that age has led to several incentives to improve it throughout the years due to its increasing volume of users on a daily basis.
Initial reconstruction efforts started in the 70s, which widened the road from one lane on either side to two lanes on both, stretching from I-465 to Danville, and there was an eventually cancelled effort in the early 2000s due to a housing market crash. Now, the Indiana Department of Transportation (abbreviated as INDOT), has begun a new effort to widen Rockville road into three lanes in order to decrease congestion in the Avon area.
On Friday, March 6th, WBDG anchor and BD radio teacher Jon Easter sat down with INDOT public relations director Blake Dollier and senior project manager Richard Gilyeat to discuss the plan and background for the upcoming reconstruction effort, which is going to be conducted in a three-year timespan. (Quotes are transcribed from the radio interview, which I was allowed to sit in on live.)
“There were a lot of alternatives that Richard and I had spent a lot of time talking about,” Dollier said. “Like how do we make this corridor more friendly to that increased traffic, and so with those numbers nearly doubling, there was a need there. We needed added safety, added mobility. […] Between Raceway Road and 465, this construction season we will start to have construction of a third travel lane. Ultimately a lot of different options were weighed, but it came down to that third lane. So now, this first season between Raceway and Transfer, there will be construction officially underway. You may see some traffic pattern shifts, you may see some nightly lane closures, we do that to help not disrupt the flow of traffic especially during those busy, rush hour times, and of course it helps our workers and contractors be safer out on the road. And then from Transfer to 465, which will be our second construction season, we will have utility relocations going on this year as well.”
The question arose during the interview about how INDOT would balance the upset of organization on the road with the number of houses and businesses that open directly onto Rockville. Alongside the Rockville construction, there is also a roundabout being added in at 10th and Raceway, both at the same time.
“Our contractor works for INDOT,” said Gilyeat. “They are working with the residents and the business owners to make sure everyone has a way in and out.The businesses that get delivered at night, they work with their contractor and they all rearrange things and make sure they can get people into the businesses so they can restock.”
“We do a lot of public involvement here,” said Dollier. “In the West Central district and across the state, but specifically speaking on our behalf, we do a lot of education in terms of social media and explaining, “who plows my road” or “who works on my road”, depending on the season, and in this case, you might get a mixture of both. We like to explain if you’re within city limits, and as long as it’s not at INDOT road like US 36 or Rockville, that would be the city that would take care of it. Then if you go out on the outskirts of town, you may see some county roads, more towards those cornfields, but out in the county the county highway department would take care of that. And then as far as INDOT goes, we maintain and take care of the US highways, the interstates, and then the state roads.”
The 2026 season involves construction from Raceway and I-465; the 2027 season moves from Raceway to Transfer Drive; the 2028 season should close it out and provide ancillary improvements such as planting grass, pavement markings, and fixing sidewalks.
The best way to stay informed on these events is to follow organizations such as INDOT on social media platforms and attend public service events, as they are held frequently with the intent to keep people informed. The name of the game here is knowing your area and who is charged with upkeep.
