The Indiana Department of Transportation has given Walsh Construction the $21.7 million contract to build a new interchange at 106th Street and Interstate 69, where construction could begin in April.

The City of Fishers and Hamilton Co. have partnered to contribute up to $12 million towards construction costs as a two-lane, oval-shaped roundabout will be built on 106th Street over I-69 with ramps to and from both directions of the interstate.

The existing 106th Street bridge over I-69 will be removed and replaced with a pair of two-lane bridges each carrying one direction of traffic. One bridge, carrying westbound traffic on the north side of 106th, will also accommodate pedestrians.

The direct access provided between 106th Street and I-69 will serve the area’s commercial and residential growth as the project aims to improve mobility and safety along the I-69 corridor in Fishers while reducing congestion at the existing I-69 interchanges at 96th and 116th streets.

Those I-69 interchanges at 96th and 116th are not easily able to be expanded due to the right-of-way impacts in those more commercially developed areas. According to INDOT statistics, more than half the crashes that occurred at those interchanges in recent years were rear-end collisions and more than 75 percent of them took place during dry, daylight conditions, with high traffic volumes likely the primary cause.

While 106th Street is closed during construction, traffic will be detoured to 96th Street via Allisonville Road and Lantern Road. The new 106th Street interchange ramps and access across I-69 are expected to be open to traffic in November, while overall construction on the project could extend to June of 2017.