J-turn intersections will not be coming to U.S. 31 in the near future. The Indiana Department of Transportation has decided not to install J-turns at State Roads 10 and 110 in Marshall County, as well as four other intersections in Cass and Miami counties. State Representative Bill Friend and State Senator Randy Head made the announcement in a statement Tuesday.
The J-turns would have prevented cars from crossing U.S. 31 directly. Instead, they would have had to turn right, make a u-turn, and then turn right again. Meanwhile, cars traveling on U.S. 31 would have still been able to make left turns directly onto State Road 10 or State Road 110.
INDOT officials said the change would significantly improve safety by preventing vehicles coming from different directions from all crossing paths at a single point. But the plan drew opposition from Argos, Culver, and Marshall County officials, as well as local residents. In Tuesday’s statement, Head said the J-turns “would back up traffic and require vehicles to merge through four lanes of traffic to turn.”
He and Friend say they discussed the issue with staff from INDOT and the governor’s office, but ultimately, the decision came down to the public comments. They add that INDOT will continue to monitor the safety of U.S. 31 and continue exploring options for improvements.
