RebuildIndy projects to get going all over town 9.10.10

The Indianapolis Star

Get ready to run into road construction zones in nearly every nook of Marion County.

Next week, Indianapolis will begin a $500 million-plus attack on rutted roads, rusted bridges and decaying or missing sidewalks. Mayor Greg Ballard announced the first $55 million batch of projects Thursday.

The resurfacing and repair work will mean headaches for drivers. But Ballard said the short-term pain of the city's RebuildIndy program -- much of it to be paid for through the pending sale of Indianapolis' water and sewer utilities to Citizens Energy Group, a nonprofit trust -- will be worthwhile.

"This is going to be a multiyear project that is going to really enhance our quality of life," he told a crowd outside Wishard Health Services' Pecar Health Center, 6940 N. Michigan Road, that included neighborhood leaders, AARP representatives and potential contract bidders.

Among the selling points of the utilities deal was the infrastructure money -- though Ballard says the needs are so great that it won't cover them all.
Notable projects

The first set of projects includes:

» Resurfacing of many Downtown streets, including Michigan, New York and Ohio streets, and replacement of some traffic signals.

» Resurfacing and other improvements on several thoroughfares, including stretches of Meridian Street south of Downtown and north of 38th Street; 10th Street from Speedway west to the Hendricks County line; Edgewood Avenue from Five Points Road to Southeastern Avenue; Guion Road from 38th to 71st Street; Post Road from I-74 to Rawles Avenue; and 46th Street from College Avenue to Keystone Avenue.

» Resurfacing of residential side streets in several neighborhoods, including a cluster of streets north of I-70 between Keystone and Sherman Drive.

» Repair of bridges at 42nd Street over Steel Ditch, Raymond Street over Lick Creek and Cossell Road over Little Eagle Creek.
Michigan Road area

Ballard also announced more than $2 million in projects along Michigan Road, much of it covered by federal funding. The four projects will improve traffic flow and pedestrian access in targeted areas from Cold Spring Road to 86th Street -- a stretch with few sidewalks -- and along 71st Street and Westlane Road in the same area.

"This helps give us identity as a neighborhood," said Turae Dabney, president of the Crooked Creek Community Development Corp. "We walk here. We shop here. We're more than just Michigan Road."
More work ahead

David Sherman, director of the Department of Public Works, said the next group of projects likely will be announced in November. He said officials must consider traffic flow during construction and other factors, so the worst roads won't necessarily get first priority.
To learn more

To see a map showing the projects and a complete list, go to the city's website at www.indy.gov/eGov/Mayor/Pages/ RebuildIndy.aspx.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100910/LOCAL18/9100342/1195/LOCAL18/RebuildIndy-projects-to-get-going-all-over-town