Ohio Street Ramp To I-65/I-70 Closing

INDIANAPOLIS -- A downtown Indianapolis ramp to interstates 65 and 70 will permanently close Monday as part of a plan to reconfigure access to the highways.

Workers eventually will demolish the Ohio Street ramp, one of two on-ramps set to be destroyed to make the area more attractive to developers.

New ramps to the highways will be built on Washington Street by the fall. The Market Street ramp will close in the fall and be demolished by this time next year, said Paul Whitmore, spokesman for the city's Department of Public Works.

Earlier, 6News and TheIndyChannel.com incorrectly reported that the Market Street ramp would close Monday.

City officials say the Ohio Street and Market Street ramps were more useful when Market Square Arena -- once the home of the Indiana Pacers -- existed. But after the arena was demolished in 2001, city planners determined that the ramps were unnecessary.

The Ohio Street ramp, which connects to southbound I-65 and westbound I-70, is not used much, the DPW said.

The Market Street ramp runs three city blocks and rises 40 feet into the air. Some local businesses are ecstatic that the ramp will be removed.

"The biggest problem we have is the clients' ability to find the office," said Patrick Mastrian, who works for a nearby law office. "They accidentally take the on ramp and end up going south on 65."

The ramp reconfigurations are expected to cost about $20 million. The federal government is picking up most of the cost, and the city is paying the rest.