Published: July 01, 2009 01:16 pm      

Collision on detour route

Four days after the Indiana Department of Transportation closed State Road 334 for construction, excess traffic on a detour route may have played a role in a three-car accident in Zionsville.

Early in the afternoon on Friday, June 26, a minivan traveling east on Hunt Club Road rear-ended an SUV, causing that vehicle to rear-end a pickup truck. None of the drivers or passengers reported serious injuries, and all were released at the scene by Zionsville medics.

Zionsville Police Department officers Elizabeth Hubbs and Sam Dennemann responded to the accident. Hubbs said Gene Haskett of Lizton, the driver of a gold Dodge minivan, took his eyes off the road while driving up a hill in the 9900 block of Hunt Club Road. When he looked back up, there was heavy traffic lined up to turn on to Ford Road. He couldn’t stop in time to avoid a collision with a silver Honda Element, driven by Allison Ohlson of Pittsboro. Ohlson’s front passenger side corner slammed into a white Ford F-250 pickup truck stopped in front of her, driven by Andrew Vannesse of Swayzee.

“Traffic was backed up and we had too many cars sitting here,” Dennemann said.

Hubbs said Zionsville police have been counting cars on Hunt Club Road since S.R. 334 was closed Monday, June 22. She said the town will determine whether additional safety measures will be needed at the intersection.

Street Department Superintendent Lance Lantz said in June that Zionsville could use temporary stop signs to create a three-way stop at the intersection of Hunt Club and Ford roads if traffic increases significantly. The detour path has seen a definite uptick in traffic, especially near the intersections.

The construction is expected to last for at least 120 days, making the estimated completion date sometime near mid-November.

During a fall 2008 meeting with Zionsville officials, INDOT Project Manager Travis Kohl said detour signs to reach Interstate 65 will be posted to direct drivers from U.S. 421 to I-465 and to I-865, but the Town of Zionsville posted its own local detour signs to minimize inconvenience for residents, merchants and visiting shoppers.

To get from I-65 to downtown Zionsville, the town’s detour follows County Road 850 East south to Hunt Club Road, and follows that road east to Ford Road. Drivers can then take Ford Road north to S.R. 334.

INDOT has deemed the bridge carrying S.R. 334 over Irishmans Run unsafe because of structural deficiencies involving concrete deterioration, and will make it safer and structurally sound by raising the bridge four feet. The project will also widen the road for 12-foot wide lanes and 10-foot shoulders. More than a half-mile of S.R. 334 is closed between Ford Road and C.R. 850 East during construction.