The multi-year Lloyd4U project to reconstruct a dozen intersections and replace bridges and pavement is on schedule and already delivering on goals of creating greater safety along the Lloyd Expressway’s 14.3 miles.
Construction started in 2024, and at the time, officials estimated a 2028 completion date. “That’s a long timeline, but I’m so happy to be able to say that I’ve not had to reprint those materials,” says Nicole Minton, the public outreach manager for Lochmueller Group, the civil engineering firm coordinating Lloyd4U construction. “The schedule’s holding. So, while it does feel like it’s taking a long time, we’re very excited to say that we are on track.”
Minton presented the update at the Rotary Club of Evansville’s weekly luncheon May 26. She says the project’s total cost has increased around $50 million from initial estimates and will approach $200 million, and early results have been positive. She cited one of the first completed new intersections at Stockwell Road. The “hybrid” intersection features a displaced left turn in one direction and a boulevard left turn in the other direction. “At one year of data, we’re looking at definite crash reductions and decreased travel time,” Minton says. “As we open up more of these intersections, you’ll start to see that kind of corridor-wide effect.”
TheLloyd4U’s goal, Minton explains, is “getting left-hand turns away from the main intersection where you have those dangerous right-angle turns, and you have an opportunity for a T-bone crash. … If we can find a way to remove those left turns from oncoming traffic, it is going to be a great improvement on safety.”
High-volume expressway intersections under construction at Burkhardt Road, Cross Pointe/Eagle Crest boulevards, and Red Bank Road are expected to be done by the end of 2026. An addition to the Cross Pointe/Eagle Crest intersection work is a new traffic signal, which greets drivers exiting southbound I-69 to travel west on Lloyd.
Dual displaced left turns are being added at all three locations, identical to the traffic pattern at Warrick County’s Epworth Road intersection, which Minton says has been safer since its 2024 completion. The model is good for mobility as well as safety, Minton says. “By moving those left-hand turns to the outside, you have your thru traffic in the middle, and we double the green light time.”
Lloyd on the West Side remains covered in orange barrels, from Wabash Avenue to University Boulevard to Posey County Line Road. Some West Side projects will continue beyond the Red Bank Road intersection’s expected completion this year. Those projects include intersection improvements at Saint Joseph and Wabash avenues, and a modification at Barker Avenue.
Minton advises drivers who are understandably frustrated by the orange barrels to remember TheLloyd4U’s ultimate goals of safer, smoother cruising. “You’re going to notice that once we have all these intersections open, it’s going to operate much more like an expressway,” she told the Rotary Club. “When you have all the signals tied together, it relies on you driving the speed limit. If you are speeding, you will not necessarily get that arterial flow, but all of the signals are going to be tied together to get that great flow as you’re moving east to west.”
Staying In Touch
Minton says there will be more short-term disruptions in Lloyd Expressway traffic flow on both sides of town as projects continue, including a mid-June restriction on left turns at the Burkhardt Road intersection, and there are multiple tools for motorists to keep up and plan accordingly.
The latest project information is at TheLloyd4U.com, Facebook, and X. Get updates sent to your phone by texting “INDOT LLOYD” to 468311, or sign up for email alerts.
