 |
| Typical Monon detour |
If you happened to brave the mid-March weather last week and put in a few miles on the Monon Trail, you might have noticed the signs posted at several locations along the southern portion of the trail. They mentioned that the trail would be closed for construction "on or after March 28th." They aren't kidding...
Indy is (finally) performing some improvements on the Monon, beginning... well, beginning now. The project has been in the planning phase since about 2014. Trail improvements boil down to widening and resurfacing, with greenway improvements that entail adding seating and "gathering places." In this, the first phase, the action is concentrated on the south half of the trail; from 14th Street to 56th. The stretch from 56th to the north county line (96th Street) will have to wait until the city acquires a lot if tiny slivers of right-of-way from neighboring property owners. After the north split work is finished, the section from 10th to 14th will receive its attention courtesy of INDOT.
According to one report, the work will be begin with closure of three stretches:
- 16th Street to 22nd Street
- 25th Street to 28th Street
- Sutherland Avenue to Fall Creek Parkway
Work should be completed "by the end of the year." In theory, the city will map out detours and post signage for trail users. Long-time Monon travelers know that any signage will be confusing and probably mixed with old signage the city forgot to take down after earlier work.
So far, Indy has budgeted $1.65 million for the project. There's no word on whether that's for the entire 10-plus miles or just the south half. Keep in mind, however, that the city's holy of holies, the Cultural Trail, is slated for lengthening; to the tune of $18 million...
As for this rider, I foresee a lot of time spent on Central, Pennsylvania, and Illinois/Capitol this year.
copyright © 2022 scmrak
No comments:
Post a Comment