“I know that when I see her I get quality work. So i’m willing to drive two plus hours to get here to her,” Selzer said.
Selzer drives from Columbus, Indiana and said getting to Terre Haute isn’t always easy.
“Usually because of wrecks. backed up traffic, road work that we don’t know about. It’s a bit of a trek to come here sometimes,” she said.
She said one way her commute could be easier is through better communication.
“I would love to have perhaps an immediate notification system. Whether I have to subscribe to a service, free or otherwise, that can send me a text message and say ‘Hey, at mile marker so and so there’s a wreck. Look for alternative routes,’ or something to that effect to give me a heads up. Especially on 70 where there’s not a lot of turnaround points,” said Selzer.
INDOT is planning to solve that problem by adding three new overhead message boards and nine live traffic cameras. They will allow drivers to see what’s happening along I-70 before getting behind the wheel.
The new message boards will be placed at the Illinois-Indiana border, the ten mile marker eastbound, and at the 16 mile marker westbound.
The traffic cameras will be along the first 16 miles of I-70, east of the Illinois-Indiana border. They will be available on INDOT’s website.
“It’s our job to get from point a to point b safely and all the things that you need to do as a driver to do that,” said Debbie Calder with INDOT.
The signs and cameras will also help for other possible traffic problems.
“We have people coming from out of state into the state. It’s a good way to be able to communicate maybe even construction projects that may be up ahead,” Calder added.
They are features Selzer said she’s looking forward to seeing as she continues to drive to Terre Haute.
“If it works and it’s live reporting, it’ll be fantastic,” she said.
INDOT will begin work on the project in July 2020, with plans for completion in 2021.
