INDOT announces short-term, long-term measures to increase safety at US 31, S.R. 10 intersection

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind. -- Drivers will soon see some new safety measures at the notoriously dangerous intersection of US 31 and S.R. 10 in Marshall County, near Argos.

The Marshall County Sheriff's Department confirmed with ABC57 that the latest crash happened there just Sunday.

In 2025 alone, five fatal accidents occurred at the intersection.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says even before this recent slew of deadly crashes, the intersection has been on its radar for a long time, more than a decade.

"INDOT first identified US 31 and S.R. 10 as an intersection that can be improved all the way back in 2013," says Cassandra Bajek, INDOT Northwest District Public Relations Director.

More than 12 years ago, INDOT tried to improve the intersection by implementing what it calls an RCI or a 'Reduced Conflict Intersection' which is used as an interim solution for safety.

However, the public voted it down.

"We received a tremendous amount of pushback which doesn't happen that frequently. There's not that many projects that get completely stalled by that," says Bajek.

The public consensus at the time was that they'd rather wait for INDOT's long-term plan for the intersection, which would have installed an interchange.

Plans for that began in 2018 but got delayed for a number of reasons including the ProPEL studies that halted all major projects on US 31, as well as funding.

"It's not like we could just say okay we're not doing the RCI and flip over to the interchange idea, we still had to figure out how to fund that project," Bajek explains.

Fast forward to present day, and there are renewed calls for increased safety measures at the intersection following five deadly crashes there in 2025 alone.

"The locals do not even use that intersection because of the amount of accidents that are there," says Ed Barcus, Argos Town Council President.

Local police departments, including state police, are focusing patrol efforts at the intersection too.

"Just on Saturday, we had some troopers focus here; just three troopers ended up writing 16 tickets and 37 warnings just through this area," says Sgt. Ted Bohner with the Indiana State Police.

While INDOT has since renewed its plans to install an interchange, with construction set to begin in 2028, crews will begin to implement short-term safety measures as soon as this spring, including speed reduction from 60 to 50 miles per hour, installing rumble strips, and pavement markings in the median to help direct drivers.

Additionally, in the summer, INDOT will install a temporary reduced conflict intersection.

"We've been paying attention to all of the crashes that have occurred here, and it's really been heartbreaking for our team to see those because we had a really good project planned for safety, and we weren't able to carry it through, so now for this to come full circle and hopefully be able to deliver that RCI in the interim between the interchange, we're just really hoping to improve safety here," explains Bajek.

INDOT is planning a public meeting for some time next month to discuss the future plans for the intersection, as well as a few others along US 31 in Marshall and Fulton Counties.

As far as the short-term safety measures, like the rumble strips and pavement markings, INDOT says those should only take a day or two to install with some single lane closures.

Those will get done as soon as the weather permits.