Just outside the city to the east, I-70 passes near Terre Haute Regional Airport, where US 40 leaves the Interstate before continuing onward to the east-northeast through rural lands toward Indianapolis.

Entering the Indianapolis area, I-70 passes through the southern reaches of Plainfield in Hendricks County, home to many logistics and warehousing companies.

Once beyond the airport, I-70 curves first to the northeast, then to the east, before eventually crossing the White River and passing just to the south of Lucas Oil Stadium, Downtown Indianapolis, and the corporate headquarters campus of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company before reaching I-65.

The north split is also called the "Spaghetti Bowl" due to the visual complexity of the overlapping freeways, ghost ramps, and overpasses that were originally intended as a connection to a never-built portion of I-69.

[2] As part of that reconstruction, the old ramps were replaced with ones that eliminated the lane switching that drivers originally had to perform to stay on I-70 eastbound and I-65 northbound.

[3] Upon leaving I-65 at the north split, I-70 reaches a maximum width of 10 lanes (five in each direction) as it departs Downtown Indianapolis toward the east-northeast.

[7] The first section of I-70 to be built in Indiana was the portion around Richmond east of the Centerville exit, which opened to traffic on September 17, 1961.