INDOT is Closing the Diamond Avenue Ramp from Highway 41 – Here’s How to Get Around It

Getting to Diamond Avenue from Highway 41 North on Evansville's north side is going to get way more difficult starting next week. Actually, it will be impossible as the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will have crews on-site to completely remove the existing off-ramp and replace it with a brand new one.

According to INDOT, the reconstruction "is part of a larger project to reconstruct the US 41 bridge over Pigeon Creek" happening just a few hundred feet north of the interchange.

Since it's not a traditional cloverleaf design like the Highway 41 and Lloyd Expressway (Highway 62) interchange, this particular ramp is the only way drivers traveling on Highway 41 North can access either direction of Diamond Avenue.

So, how are you going to get to Diamond Avenue if you're heading north on Highway 41? In their press release announcing the closure, INDOT offered an official detour, but it's not, let's say, "ideal." Their suggestion is to take Highway 41 North all the way to Interstate 64, then head west on I-64 to Highway 65 on the west side and take that highway south until you get back to Diamond. According to Google Maps, that's a 32.7-mile detour that will take over 40 minutes to drive, and that doesn't include the time it will take you to get wherever you want to go on Diamond Ave.

This detour may be more designed for truck drivers from outside the area who are here to make deliveries. Fortunately, those of us who live here know there are other ways to get to Diamond Avenue without having to drive almost an hour out of our way. Here are a few suggestions:

Weinbach Avenue

This is probably the easiest way. If you're heading north on Highway 41, turn right on Morgan Avenue and head to the intersection of Morgan and Weinbach. Turn left to head north on Weinbach which becomes Diamond Avenue at the curve by Fendrich Golf Course.

Fares Avenue

Instead of turning right onto Morgan Avenue from Highway 41 North, turn left. Take the short trek to North Fares, and turn right. Fares will lead you straight to Diamond where you can then head east or west.

You can also access Fares from the Virginia and Columbia Street intersections just before Morgan Avenue.

Stringtown Road

Let's say you're driving down Highway 41 to get to Diamond and you forget about the construction. Your next shot at getting back to Diamond will take a little longer, and require a few more turns. You'll need to take a left at the intersection of 41 and St. George Road. St. George becomes Kentucky Avenue after a curve about a half mile or so west of the intersection. Turn right off Kentucky onto Mill Road and head west to Stringtown Road. Turn left on Stringtown and it will take you straight to Diamond.

The ramp reconstruction is set to begin on Wednesday, July 27th, and is expected to wrap up sometime in mid-August, so we're looking at three to four weeks of having to navigate around it.

[Source: INDOT]