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INDOT to Track Santa’s Travels on its Social Media Pages
Saint Nick, INDOT to offer travel tips to “Know before you go”

The Indiana Department of Transportation will again promote safe travels this holiday season by tracking the movements of Santa Claus through Indiana on social media. Kris Kringle will pass Indiana landmarks, visit with INDOT staff and share travel tips he picks up on his long trip around the state.

Children who wish to participate should first ask their parents for permission or assistance, and look on the pages listed below for posts tagged #SantaStopsIN. Saint Nick is predicted to enter the state starting at 6 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 24 and spend a half hour in each of INDOT’s six regional districts in the order listed below.

6 p.m. Seymour District www.facebook.com/INDOTSoutheast www.twitter.com/INDOTSoutheast 6:30 p.m. Greenfield District www.facebook.com/INDOTEastCentral www.twitter.com/INDOTEast 7 p.m. Fort Wayne District www.facebook.com/INDOTNortheast www.twitter.com/INDOTNortheast 7:30 p.m. LaPorte District www.facebook.com/INDOTNorthwest www.twitter.com/INDOTNorthwest 8 p.m. Crawfordsville District www.facebook.com/INDOTWestCentral www.twitter.com/INDOT_WCentral 8:30 p.m. Vincennes District www.facebook.com/INDOTVincennesDistrict www.twitter.com/INDOTSouthwest

New Ohio River bridges near Louisville

New and improved Ohio River Bridges welcome holiday travelers and reduce travel times between Louisville and southern Indiana.

Earlier this week, Indiana Lt. Governor and Governor-elect Eric Holcomb ceremonially opened the State Road 265 Lewis and Clark Bridge, completing an interstate-quality loop around the Louisville Metro. The new Ohio River bridge and connecting roads just east of Jeffersonville, IN allow I-64 and I-65 traffic to bypass downtown Louisville when connecting to I-71 or Lexington, KY.

The $2.3 billion Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project also includes new and improved I-65 bridges that opened to their final configuration in November.

Tolling begins on the I-65 and SR-265 Ohio River crossings on Friday, Dec. 30. All-electronic tolling will be used, which means no stopping for toll booths or change buckets. For the lowest toll rate, use your existing E-ZPass transponder or create a prepaid account at www.RiverLink.com. For drivers without prepaid accounts, bills will be mailed to the address registered to the vehicle.

Road work suspended

The holidays mark the unofficial end to this year’s road construction. Crews may continue earth moving, demolition, clearing and bridge work as weather permits this winter.

INDOT contractors will pull back barrels and barricades to the safest extent possible for holiday travel and the winter. Some restrictions will remain in place for ongoing road construction, including:

• I-65 lanes are shifted for widening construction between State Road 26 (Exit 172) and State Road 25 (Exit 175) near Lafayette.
• I-69 lanes are shifted toward the right shoulders for widening construction between State Road 37 (Exit 205) in Fishers and State Road 38 (Exit 219) near Pendleton. Large trucks are advised to use the left lane through the work zone.
• Sections of State Road 37 from Bloomington to just south of Martinsville are reduced to one lane in each direction for Interstate 69 construction.

Know before you go

INDOT reminds Hoosiers to drive defensively and plan extra travel time during the holidays. Hoosier Helpers sponsored by State Farm will patrol urban interstates in Indianapolis, Northwest Indiana and Southern Indiana near Louisville during heavy travel periods this holiday.

Learn about traffic and road conditions, crashes and construction on state highways by visiting http://indot.carsprogram.org, calling 1-800-261-ROAD (7623) or dialing 511 from a mobile phone.

Subscribe to receive INDOT news and information by text message or email at http://bit.ly/INDOTsubscription. Find customer service contact information for your regional INDOT district at https://entapps.indot.in.gov/dotmaps/districtmaps.

Media Contacts
Southwest Indiana - Jason Tiller, 812-895-7310 or jtiller@indot.in.gov
Southeast Indiana - Harry Maginity, 317-468-3190 or hmaginity@indot.in.gov
West Central Indiana - Debbie Calder, 765-361-5236 or dcalder@indot.in.gov
East Central Indiana - Nathan Riggs, 317-467-3479 or nriggs@indot.in.gov
Northwest Indiana - Doug Moats, 219-325-7526 or dmoats@indot.in.gov
Northeast Indiana - Nichole Hacha-Thomas, 260-969-8219 or nhachathomas@indot.in.gov