Personnel from the Southeast District of the Indiana Department of Transportation will participate in an earthquake disaster training exercise the week of Sept. 16-20 at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Butlerville. INDOT says that operations will include route clearing, bridge inspection and building assessments.

Authorities say this will cause an increase in traffic between the district’s headquarters in Seymour, the INDOT Maintenance Unit at North Vernon and the MUTC.

On Wednesday and Friday (Sept. 18 & 20), teams will be deployed to and from Seymour, and will travel U.S. 50 and the bypass to MUTC and the North Vernon Unit location on State Road 3.

Officials say the training exercise will involve personnel from all INDOT districts from across the state, as well as employees from the Ohio Department of Transportation. Similar training programs are conducted each year to ensure INDOT and its employees are prepared to respond to natural disasters.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that three bridges on I-65 will be closed, starting next week, for bridge deck overlays and preventative maintenance as part of the added travel lanes project in Jackson and Bartholomew Counties.

The following bridges will be closed for approximately 55 days while crews complete overlay and maintenance work:

• Enos Road/C.R. 700 N. (Jackson County), Detour: C.R. 1000 E. to C.R. 800 N. to U.S. 31
• Redding Road/C.R. 925 E. (Jackson County), Detour: C.R. 800 N. To C.R. 1000 E.
• C.R. 950 S. (Bartholomew County), Detour: C.R. 150 W. to C.R. 1050 S. to C.R. 80 W. to C.R. 1100 N. to C.R. 60 E.

The entire I-65 added travel lanes and reconstruction project is scheduled to be complete by August 2020.

All work is dependent on the weather.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.

A semi driver was arrested after a Monday morning crash in Jackson County.

Indiana State Police say at approximately 4:30 a.m., troopers responded to the scene where a semi ran off the road and overturned on northbound I-65 near the 51.5 mile marker, just north of Seymour.

ISP’s initial investigation indicated a semi pulling an enclosed trailer driven by 56-year-old James M. Murphy, was traveling northbound on I-65 when the vehicle left the east side of the roadway. The semi struck a guardrail and overturned off the east side of the interstate.

During the initial investigation, troopers observed that Murphy was showing signs of being intoxicated. A roadside preliminary breath test indicated Murphy had a .26 percent BAC, more than three-times the legal limit. He was transported to Schneck Medical Center where a search warrant was served to obtain a blood sample from him. The toxicology results are pending.

Murphy was arrested on preliminary charges of Operating While Intoxicated and Operating with a BAC of .15 or greater. He was also cited for Open Container Violation and Disregarding a Traffic Control Device.

Neither Murphy nor an adult female passenger in the vehicle were injured and the investigation is ongoing.

The northbound lanes of I-65 remained closed for approximately eight hours for crash investigation and cleanup. All I-65 Northbound traffic was diverted onto US 50 and then to US 31 north from Seymour during the closure.

Two traffic switches are planned this week on the north and southbound lanes of I-65 as part of the reconstruction project in Jackson and Bartholomew counties.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that, starting Monday night, Sept. 9, E&B Paving Inc. will shift southbound traffic back to the southbound side of I-65 from mile-marker 58.5 to mile-marker 56 near the Jackson/Bartholomew County line.

Following the switch, crews will move barrier wall during daytime hours to move northbound traffic to southbound lanes at the same location on Friday, Sept 13. In this configuration, all I-65 traffic will travel on the southbound side from mile-marker 61.2 to mile-marker 56.

INDOT says that drivers should continue to adhere to the 55 mph speed restriction and use extra caution in the ongoing construction zone between Columbus and Seymour. All trucks should continue to use the left lane for travel.

The project is expected to be complete by next August.

Seymour Police Chief Bill Abbott is retiring. The city will host a celebration of Abbott’s more than 29 years of service on Friday, Sept. 13 in the Seymour Police Department Lobby from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. That is located at 205 North Ewing Street.

City officials say that accrued vacation will keep Abbott on the payroll for a few months, but his last day on the job is effectively Sept. 13th.

Officer retention at the Columbus Police Department is much better. Chief Jon Rohde explains that several factors helped, including the implementation of updated pay ranges for officers after a salary study was commissioned by the city council.

Rohde adds that an updated grooming policy, which allows for beards and non-offensive tattoos, also helped drive recruitment and retention.

Currently, Rohde says all officer positions are filled.

CPD is accepting applications for patrol officer to prepare for the next open position. You can get an application online at columbus.in.gov/police.

Chief Rohde gave a presentation on the department’s recruitment and retention efforts at this week’s meeting of the Columbus City Council.

The City of Columbus will observe the 18th year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with a remembrance ceremony on Wednesday. The ceremony will begin promptly at 8:40 a.m. at Columbus City Hall and you are invited.

City officials say that a moment of silence will be observed to correspond with the attacks, beginning at 8:46 a.m., the time American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Additionally, the ceremony will include an emergency responder radio dispatch to honor the first responders and citizens that lost their lives following the attacks at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Members of the Columbus Fire and Police Department Color Guard will take part in the ceremony, and brief comments will be made by City officials. The ceremony is expected to last about 30 minutes.

Schneck Primary Care is hosting a Drive-thru Flu Vaccine Clinic. These clinics will be offered in Seymour and Brownstown on the following dates:

• Sept. 28, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Schneck Urgent Care parking lot in Seymour
• Oct. 12, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Schneck Urgent Care parking lot in Seymour
• Oct. 12, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Schneck Primary Care parking lot in Brownstown

“Just drive up,” said Meghan McAlister, Director of Family Practice, Schneck Urgent & Primary Care. “Our care providers administer the vaccine while you stay in your car!”

The vaccine is available in regular dose and high dose for those ages 65 and older. The cost of the flu vaccine is covered by most insurance plans or self-pay.

“Even healthy people can get the flu, and it can be serious,” added McAlister. “Everyone six months and older should get a flu vaccine. This season, protect yourself and those around you by getting vaccinated.”

The vaccines will be available on a first come, first served basis. For more information, call Schneck Primary Care at 812-522-1613.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says that maintenance crews will conduct nightly lane closures on I-65 north and southbound beginning Sunday evening between Scottsburg and Seymour to perform crack sealing operations.

Work will take place nightly from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. beginning Sunday, Sept. 8, through the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 11, as well as Sunday, Sept. 15, through the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 18, between Exit 29 and Exit 50.

Crews will start working northbound from Scottsburg and start southbound from Seymour.

Motorists are urged to slow down, use extra caution and watch for slowed traffic in and near all work zones. All work is weather permitting.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team powered by Crew Car Wash. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.

Traffic restrictions on Highway 11 are set to begin next week in Seymour. An excavation and repair to a walking path is set to begin on Monday, Sept. 9th.

The Seymour Department of Public Works says that Hwy 11 from Stevens Drive to County Road 200 North will have daily lane restrictions from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday Sept. 13th. The restriction will reduce travel to a single lane, with flaggers to allow both north and south lanes to pass in the north bound lane.

If you are looking for more traffic information, download the WAZE app for your smartphone and join the WCSI Traffic team powered by Crew Car Wash. You can find updated traffic information on our website, on-air and on the app.