Have thoughts about how to rebuild the I-65/I-70 north split? Come to this meeting

A group of landscape architects, architects, urban planners and neighborhood residents are presenting ways to redo the I-65 and I-70 split on the city's north side. They said they want to prevent what they call a "destructive" Indiana Department of Transportation plan.

INDOT's $250 million preliminary plan to widen some of the highways and bridges and build concrete walls bordering the interstate at the split would hurt the eight surrounding historic neighborhoods, by further dividing Downtown and creating more noise, pollution and traffic, said architect Mark Beebe. 

"It's really concerning that it's happening," Beebe said. "We know there are better options and other alternatives we could be studying. We're just concerned that the schedule is being pushed without an open public dialogue."

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Those other alternatives, Beebe said, include moving traffic below ground to open up more land for developpment or removing the highways that cross through Downtown altogether, as some other cities have done. The INDOT plan also fails to recognize a future where the city likely won't be as dependent on cars, he said.

"This issue is really important when we think about how we're compared to other cities," Beebe said. "What's being proposed is kind of an old mindset, that a car-centric approach is the way of the future, and we know that's just not true."

The American Institute of Architects Indianapolis hosted a public event at the City Market on Thusrday with a panel that includes Indiana Landmarks President Marsh Davis.

"We're not saying, 'whoa, stop it,'" Davis said. "There's a mounting, rising tide of concern with this project. I would imagine that there would be a very good reason for the parties responsible for this project to be responsive."

No one disputes the need to reconstruct the north split — at 50 to 60 years old, the 32 bridges in the area are deteriorating rapidly and are beginning to pose safety issues. Upwards of 200,000 cars travel the split daily.

INDOT spokesman Andy Dietrick said the project is in the very early planning stages and no design or scope has been decided. 

"We will do our due diligence and look at all our alternatives," he said. "We look at a lot of different alternatives, and it's not uncommon to look at what the public suggests."

Dietrick said INDOT will listen to what the opposing groups suggest. Construction is expected to begin in late 2019 or early 2020."When those groups came to us and presented their proposals, we listened, we looked," he said. "There's generally dissension on any large project."

Call IndyStar reporter Amy Bartner at (317) 444-6752. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.