US 31 closed near Westfield, US 31 closed at 191st Street

WESTFIELD, Ind. — Look out for commuters heading home to Westfield, Noblesville and Sheridan after work. A bridge closure on northbound US 31 is causing long delays each evening.

Until June 21, the section of US 31 that crosses 191st Street is completely closed for construction from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day of the week.

The closure took effect Monday and led to traffic jams on northbound U.S. 31, with all three lanes closed and drivers forced to exit at 191st Street and detour around the bridge.

This closure is just north of where US 31 crosses State Road 32 in Westfield. Northbound drivers exiting State Road 32 onto US 31 immediately found themselves stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic that crawled at a snail's pace to the 191st Street exit, a stretch less than three kilometers.

The northbound US 31 detour simply forces everyone to exit onto 191st and then re-enter the northbound US 31 entrance ramp, diverting the bridge entirely.

On Tuesday, impatient drivers were even seen speeding onto the shoulder of US 31 in an attempt to cut off northbound traffic and exit at 191st, likely without realizing that all the drivers were also forced to leave the highway.

The Indiana Department of Transportation said the nighttime closure is expected to continue every weekday through June 21.