Monon Closure at SR32 Bridge, October 2021

Last week (Saturday, October 9, to be precise) we noticed that Westfield had placed barriers at the south end of the new State Road 32 bridge on the Monon Trail. The signs warned that "on or after October 11" the trail would be closed. 

"Huh," we said, "Wonder why?"

According to a post buried on the City of Westfield Facebook page, the closure will last "approximately two weeks" (yeah, sure...) and is necessitated by, "Improvements being made on Wheeler Road at the intersections of both SR 32 and Tournament Trail." Since Tournament Trail doesn't cross the Monon – at least not yet – the complete closure of the trail seems to be related to something else. Perhaps it's the blue lines marked "Cut here" scrawled on the trail another quarter mile north...

As is typical of Westfield, there's no detour posted. So here are a couple of ideas for trail users who aren't Westfield natives. Click on the link to see a map of the route:

1. Follow the Midland Trace trail west to Quaker Park, then cross 32 at the signal at Dartown Road. Continue on Dartown to the 3-Way intersection. You can either turn right on 181st Street to return to the Monon or angle left on Kinsey to reach 186th Street in Grand Park; turn right to return to the Monon.
2. Use Union Street, 181st Street, 169th Street, and the trails along Westfield and Park Street in downtown Westfield to detour around the closure. Union can be a little dicey...
3. If you're confident in traffic, just use Wheeler Road like we had to while that bridge was under construction.

Sure would be nice if Westfield posted a detour, though...

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