“The substantial completion of the North Split project proves how a committed team, when aligned, can achieve a nearly impossible feat,” said Superior CEO Nick Largura. “I’m grateful to all of the Superior team members and partners who worked alongside us to deliver this critical transportation hub for the people of Indianapolis, and I look forward to watching it connect this region for generations to come.”
The North Split project has been a collaborative effort between Superior Construction, its design partner, Janssen & Spaans Engineering, Inc. (JSE), and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). It is the first endeavor to completely reconstruct the interchange, bridges, and pavement along the North Split since it opened in 1976.
In addition to replacing the area’s aging infrastructure, INDOT sought to improve public safety by eliminating the interstate’s original weave patterns. According to the agency, frequent merges, weaves, and lane changes over short distances have led to many crashes in the North Split project area, including more than 1,600 recorded crashes from 2012 to 2016 alone. Superior’s $399.5 million project modernized the North Split’s original design, resulting in a safer, more efficient traffic flow, easing congestion, and reducing travel times for 214,000 daily commuters and freight operators.
Superior’s crews broke ground on the project in February 2021. Using approved alternative technical concepts and value-added solutions, the design-build team incorporated improvements that provided smoother transitions between interstates and enhanced connectivity. To improve the movement of traffic during construction, Superior and JSE developed a design and traffic pattern that kept the high-volume interstate’s main artery (65 southbound to 70 eastbound; 70 westbound to 65 northbound) open throughout the project while enhancing safety for drivers and craft workers.
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North Split project highlights include:
- Constructing 47 new bridges, widening three existing bridges, and rehabilitating three additional bridges
- Removing and repaving 35 lane miles of new, continually reinforced concrete pavement
- Utilizing over 150 pieces of major heavy equipment
- Collaborating with over 54 project partners
- Signing 49 vendor contracts
- Performing more than 1 million cubic yards of earthwork
- Employing more than 300 Superior Construction craft workers and more than 300 subcontracted laborers (during the peak of the project’s labor demands)
The North Split project is the largest transportation project that Superior has ever completed. The infrastructure contractor self-performed the project’s bridge work and collaborated with subcontractors on various elements, including the bridge deck overlays and paving. The magnitude of the project presented many challenges, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, including obtaining materials and meeting staffing demands. Superior’s union partners were vital in providing skilled craft workers, including carpenters, teamsters, laborers, iron workers, and operating engineers, to meet the project’s extremely high labor demand.
“It’s not every day we can transform the entire blueprint of a city with the help of our exceptional partners and vendors,” said Superior’s Midwest Business Unit President Dan Sopczak. “We consider it a privilege to complete this landmark project that will have a significant economic impact on the region.”
Upon opening the final ramp, the focus of the remaining work will shift to aesthetic improvements, including painting, landscaping, and lighting. The team will also add bridge monuments, resurface local streets and sidewalks, and construct sound walls at the northeast corner of the interchange.
