The 80/90 Indiana Toll Road is a vital transportation artery connecting several important Midwest cities and regions, including South Bend and Mishawaka. As a major east-west thoroughfare that spans over 157 miles across northern Indiana, the toll road is a crucial link for commercial and personal traffic in the region.

For the South Bend and Mishawaka areas, the toll road is a crucial transportation route for residents commuting to work, businesses transporting goods, and visitors traveling to and from nearby cities and states. It also connects to nearby airports, including the South Bend International Airport.

Moreover, the toll road is critical for the region’s economic growth and development. It allows easy access to major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland. This, in turn, supports businesses in the South Bend and Mishawaka areas, providing them with better access to markets, suppliers, and customers.

Indiana Toll Road implemented three Wrong-Way Driver detection and alert systems to avoid hazardous crashes the previous year. These systems informed 97 drivers that they were about to enter the toll road from the wrong direction. Among those, 95 drivers self-corrected their course before entering incorrectly, while two were promptly reported to law enforcement and other drivers on the road.

Despite the preventive measures, wrong-way driving incidents can still result in dangerous and devastating consequences. For instance, in November, a 67-year-old man, Robert Spann, died in a head-on collision caused by a wrong-way driver on the U.S. 20 bypass near Indiana 19 in Elkhart County.

To expand the safety measures, the Indiana Toll Road installed the Wrong-Way Driver detection and alert system at three locations in 2020, including the Exit 56 Eastbound off-ramp in Rolling Prairie and the Exit 83 Eastbound and Exit 83 Westbound off-ramps in Mishawaka. On Jan. 5 of this year, the system was activated for the fourth time at Exit 5 Eastbound at the Calumet Avenue Eastbound off-ramp in Calumet.

The 80/90 Indiana Toll Road is important to the South Bend and Mishawaka areas because it provides a vital transportation link for personal and commercial traffic, connects the region to essential airports and metropolitan areas, and supports economic growth and development.