Does INDOT review my driveway if I live on a state route?
Answered by AskBaily Editorial · Updated
Short answer
Yes — if your parcel fronts a state-maintained route (US 31, US 40, US 421, SR 37, SR 67, SR 135, I-65, I-69, I-70, I-74, I-465), INDOT reviews new curb cuts, driveway expansions, culvert installations, and utility connections. Sight-distance, grade, apron geometry, and drainage standards apply. INDOT review runs 4-10 weeks before DBNS will issue the building permit. Locally-maintained streets file through DBNS + DPW.
In detail
Yes -- if the front of your parcel faces a state-maintained route, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) reviews any new curb cut, expanded driveway, culvert, or utility connection before the Indianapolis Department of Business and Neighborhood Services (DBNS) will issue your building permit. Marion County has a long list of these routes: US 31 (Meridian Street and Madison Avenue corridors), US 36 (Rockville Road), US 40 (Washington Street), US 52 (Brookville Road / Lafayette Road), US 421 (Michigan Road), SR 37 (Harding Street / Fall Creek Pkwy north end), SR 67 (Kentucky Avenue), SR 100 (E 86th / Shadeland), SR 134, SR 135 (south side), and every interstate corridor in the doughnut: I-65, I-69, I-70, I-74, I-465. If the road in front of your home appears in green-shield route signage, INDOT review applies.
The permit at issue is the INDOT Driveway Permit, filed through the appropriate INDOT district office (Greenfield District for most of Marion County). INDOT applies the Indiana Driveway Permit Manual: minimum sight-distance triangles tied to posted speed, maximum driveway grade in the first 25 feet, apron geometry (radius, throat width, taper), drainage pattern (culvert sizing if there is a roadside ditch), and minimum spacing from intersections, signals, and other curb cuts. They will require an engineered drawing for anything beyond a like-for-like replacement.
Review cycle is meaningful. A simple residential curb cut review runs 4-6 weeks; anything that needs a culvert, a sight-distance variance, or a divided-highway median treatment can run 8-10 weeks. DBNS will not issue a building permit that depends on a driveway feeding a state route until the INDOT approval is on file. Plan your permit timeline accordingly.
Locally-maintained streets (most residential side streets) skip INDOT and route only through DBNS plus the Indianapolis Department of Public Works for right-of-way work.
Not sure whether your street is INDOT or local? Drop the address into chat and Baily will check the route designation before you commit a contractor.
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