Monday, March 25, 2023
Southern Indiana will take center stage for many eclipse enthusiasts as they travel to Evansville to watch the April 8th event.
Evansville sits in the path of totality for the upcoming eclipse event which will draw thousands of people to southern and central Indiana. Because of the Total Solar Eclipse, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will suspend construction from 12:00 am Sunday April 7, 2024, until sunrise on Tuesday April 9, 2024. Barrels will be moved back and lanes will be open along the Lloyd to accommodate the extra traffic.
INDOT and the Indiana State Police are urging drivers to be prepared and expect increased congestion the day of the event. For more information about the Total Solar Eclipse, visit exploreevansville.com to see a full schedule of events. For more information from INDOT and how to plan ahead, please visit eclipse2024.in.gov.
In previous editions of “The Latest on the Lloyd” newsletter, we’ve highlighted some of our innovative intersections including Reduced Conflict Intersections (RCIs) and Displaced Left Turns. These intersection designs are less familiar in our area, but their proven safety and efficiency are a popular option for tough transportation problems like we have on the Lloyd.
As people learn how to navigate these new-to-Evansville intersection designs, a common question comes up. How does adding a traffic signal decrease waiting? Innovative intersections like the Displaced Left Turn and RCIs use an additional signal to move traffic in position when they would typically be idling at a red light. This allows reorganization of traffic to make intersections safer and reduce time stopped. Mat Van Der Meer, an engineer with the project team, used traffic modeling to test the proposed changes. He shared, “you typically run a model and you expect to see a little bit of change, but when I looked at the que lengths and the delays for the overall intersections, you could really see a marked improvement”. He adds, “people are going to see reduced delays in the movements that matter most to them, especially the ones coming off the Lloyd to get into those shopping centers and businesses.”
The additional traffic signal on a Displaced Left Turn, will work in unison with the intersection’s signals to allow for movement of through traffic and left turns at the same time. This increases green light time on the Lloyd. Click here to watch a short animation on how to operate a displaced left turn.
When compared to a no-build option, TheLloyd4U reduces travel times at intersections along the Lloyd by up to a minute, especially during peak morning and evening commutes. When you stack up all of the combined intersection improvements, the arterial flow of east/west traffic is greatly improved..
As we get closer to construction, find answers to your frequently asked questions on TheLloyd4U.com. Click here to see our FAQs page.
Stay connected and up to date on future Lloyd Expressway project developments by texting “INDOT LLOYD” to 468311. Continue following thelloyd4u.com for more information on the innovative intersections you can expect to experience on the improved Lloyd4U.
