New I-69 rest area opened Thursday

AUBURN, Ind. (WANE) The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT0 opened a new rest stop on northbound I-69 just south of Auburn on Thursday, November 15, at 10 a.m. The Auburn Rest Area is located at approximately mile marker 324.

The rest area accommodates 80 large trucks and 50 passenger vehicles. It has multiple restrooms for men, women, and “family assisted” care. Travelers will have picnic areas, dog walks and indoor vending areas. The facility is equipped with diesel-driven auxiliary power, and is connected to Auburn city utilities for its water supply and waste treatment. It will be staffed day and night, seven days a week.

At noon on Thursday the Flat Creek rest area facility, on northbound I-69 at mile marker 192 near the Huntington and Wells County line, is scheduled to close permanently. Indiana State Police will be on hand to assist with the closure of this facility, and a message board will also advise travelers of the rest stop facilities’ status.

“The Auburn Rest Area is a modern facility that is handicapped-accessible and can accommodate a greater number of people and vehicles as it replaces the 40-plus-year-old facility on northbound I-69 in the Markle area,” said Todd Johnson, INDOT Fort Wayne District Deputy Commissioner. “The old Auburn rest area, which was built in 1966, was closed in 2001. Its capacity was only 30 cars and 10 trucks.”