North Split Work Creates Monon Detour

 

Monon detour

The multi-year highway project that will redo the I-70/I-65 junction northeast of Indy's downtown has begun, with the attendant road closures and detours to I-465 and/or surface streets. Since the city's beloved Monon Rails-to-Trail pathway passes near the center of the work zone, Indy has built a detour to allow trail users to stay off the streets. Unlike the temporary detours created for the 38th Street bridge earlier this year, the city has built a paved pathway (mostly) to take the traffic. No piles of #3 gravel this time. 

Traffic detours west of the existing trail to College Avenue, adding about half a mile to the trail's total length. At the south end, users follow 10th Street west to a new strip of asphalt that parallels the interstate and then turns north at the sidewalk along College. Half of the trail along College is the existing concrete sidewalk, half is fresh asphalt in the "parking strip" between sidewalk and curb. There are still a few bugs to work out, including existing curb cuts and some sloppy corners. 

North of the interchange, new pavement extends along the south side of Frank and Judy O'Bannon Soccer Park to the original line of the Monon about 1000' south of 16th Street. The soccer park includes restrooms near the trail. My unofficial measurements suggest that the detour is about three-fourths of a mile long, replacing a stretch of the trail that is slightly under a quarter of a mile long. The detour hits 10th Street at Bellfontaine, which is the north end of the Cultural Trail along Mass Ave. Published reports suggest that the city may make the detour a permanent part of the Monon after the highway work is completed. Stay tuned... copyright © 2021 scmrak