More Monon Construction Begins; Fall Creek Trail Blocked

Updated 10 July 2022

The Monon south of Fall Creek is again closed in two sections. The original asphalt between 22nd and 25th Streets and between 29 Street and Sutherland has been scraped off and crews are working throughout the week. This is in addition to closures north of the Fairgrounds. Detours are marked, if somewhat poorly, and there is a nearly useless map posted on the DPW website (it does have a moderately useful timeline chart). You might want to ignore the "official" detour and use the marked bike lanes on Pennsylvania and Illinois/Capitol, although none is in particularly good condition.

Usable version of the DPW's "South Monon Bicycle Detour"

Monon trail closure

After three months of poorly-marked detours on streets that bear a striking resemblance to jeep trails, reconstruction work on the southern three miles of Indy's Monon Rail Trail is essentially complete. Only the detour around North Split construction south of 14th Street remain, a section that will not be completed for many months. Three sections of the trail have been widened and resurfaced: 16th to 23rd, 25th to 28th, and Sutherland to Fall Creek. With the exception of sections temporarily closed for the removal of equipment and tree trimming, the trail is now open between 42nd and 10th Streets.

Now begins the next phase: Fall Creek to 56th Street.

As of today, June 29th, construction barriers have gone up at 42nd, 46th, 49th, 53nd, and 54th Streets – just in time for the July 4th three-day weekend. Detour signs have sprung up; at 56th Street traffic is directed east through Canterbury Park to side streets; at 42nd Street traffic is directed west. How the two sides connect remains a mystery.

Speaking of detours, after months of crying "Wolf!" at 39th and the Fall Creek Greenway Trail, the trail is finally closed for real. Construction of the Purple Line bus lane has wiped out the cross walk on the east side of Fall Creek Boulevard and 38th Street. Trail traffic appears to have been diverted to the sidewalk on the west side of Fall Creek, crossing one of the city's busiest intersections at a pair of crosswalks. Good luck with that, trail users... Once again, just in time for the State Fair.

It appears that not only does no one in the Indy DPW knw how to use pruners, hedge trimmers or loppers to clear overgrown weeds and brush; they also don't seem to have access to a calendar.

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