Email to IndyStar from Indiana Department of Transportation
Crash statistics
Listed below per year are crashes on State Road 37, the future I-69, as reported by individual
investigating law-enforcement agencies. The limits for the search were south of the State Road
39 exit in Martinsville to and including the S. Victor Pike intersection south of Bloomington.
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2011: 173 crashes, 3 of which were fatal crashes
2012: 177 crashes, 1 of which was a fatal crash
2013: 206 crashes, 0 of which were fatal crashes
2014: 240 crashes, 0 of which were fatal crashes
2015: 281 crashes, 2 of which were fatal crashes
2016: 354 crashes, 4 of which were fatal crashes
Jan-April 2017: 63 crashes, 0 of which were fatal crashes

When looking at these numbers, it’s important to remember a few things:
 Crash statistics are rising nationally due to distracted driving, the economy and other
factors.
 In general, State Road 37 traffic volumes have been increasing over the past several
years.
 Construction to connect I-69 Section 4 restricted S.R. 37 traffic between S. Victor Pike
and That Road south of Bloomington.
 I-69 Development Partners was issued notice to proceed with I-69 Section 5
construction on Dec. 1, 2014. Prior to December 2014 there were intermittent, temporary
lane closures for surveying, pavement testing and other preliminary work.
 Rear-end collisions typically increase in freeway work zones with lane closures and
merges that require traffic to slow down suddenly.
 The causes of the fatal crashes listed are not a direct result of construction.
The performance measure for the I-69 Section 5 goal of improving safety is the reduction in
crashes in the I-69 Section 5 study area. Controlled-access interstates are the safest form of
vehicular facility and draw traffic from local roads with higher crash rates. Chapter 3 of the final
environmental-impact statement predicts that I-69 Section 5 will reduce annual crashes in all of
Monroe and Morgan counties by 261 and fatal crashes by 2.