WESTFIELD, Ind. – It is no surprise Hamilton County has grown over the years, which is exactly why transportation officials want to try and accommodate that growth.
You can practically spot some sort of new development anywhere you drive in Hamilton County.
“There’s been a lot of growth,” said Hamilton County resident Harlan Hofeling.
“It’s happening everywhere in southern Hamilton County,” resident Dan Funk said. “There’s no question.”
With that growing population of course comes more cars on the road, which sometimes leads to congestion.
“It gets a little hard with the traffic and that,” Hofeling said. “But I think they’ve done a good job trying to increase the flow of traffic.”
That is exactly what the Indiana Department of Transportation is looking to accomplish on State Road 32.
INDOT held a public information session on Wednesday night in Westfield to help provide some insight into plans to revamp State Road 32 between Noblesville and Westfield. The meeting also served as a chance to get feedback from community members before construction actually gets underway.
The major overhaul would take place along a large stretch of State Road 32 between East Street and Mensa Drive.
“In this 5-mile corridor, we are seeing that we are having a lot of extra traffic in this area,” said INDOT Public Relations Director Kyleigh Cramer. “As well as seeing those pesky left-hand and right-hand turns.”
The project would add roundabouts at seven different intersections along State Road 32. It would also add lanes and new pedestrian safety features.
“This is going to be really helpful,” Cramer said. “Making sure that with congestion people are safe.”
Safety is also a major component of the project. The roadwork aims to decrease the number of crashes along State Road 32, which meeting attendees said is a top priority for them.
“The accidents that they’ve talked about are significant and we need to get some control of that as well,” Funk said.
“I think it will eliminate a lot of crashes at the stoplights,” Hofeling said. “I think it’ll improve the travel time like they were talking about and just make everything a little safer.”
But this is not the only roadwork planned or already taking place in Hamilton County.
The Hamilton County Highway Department is also looking to make similar improvements along other major roadways like 146th Street. Construction is already underway on 146th and Allisonville Road. The county is also planning construction at 146th and Hazel Dell Parkway that would start in 2026.
“While anything that’s under construction is difficult, it’ll get better,” Hofeling said.
“I know they’ve looked at developing it for that purpose, to make it a major thoroughfare,” Funk described.
Meanwhile, INDOT said it is still accepting public comment for its work on State Road 32 before those plans progress. The department said utility work is expected to begin on State Road 32 in 2025, and then roadwork will take place from 2026 to 2027.
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