December 2011: Recycling Bins Galore!

Enjoying autumn on the Trail

In their recent piece on hiking and biking in North American cities, MSN predicted the future of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail as “one of America’s finest urban pathways.” The Circle City finds itself in good company with Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, Anchorage, AK, and Manchester, NH. Read more here…

ArtPlace video on Swarm Street

1. Enjoy Vito Acconci’s explanation of the inspirations for Swarm Street.
2. Stop by the installation site.
3. Does it look like a bird’s nest to you? (The lights are working yet, so we won’t ask if the firefly lights inspire warm, summer-y thoughts.)

Recycling bins installed!!

Have you seen the new recycling bins on the Trail?! They’re gorgeous—at least we think they are, and there’s a rumor that a certain program assistant shut herself in the prototype to see if she fit… When all is said and done, there will be 141 bins installed.

Moving Forward progress

If you’ve been on Virginia Avenue south of the CSX Bridge, you may have seen the beginnings of one of Donna Sink’s Moving Forward bus shelters. (pictured above)

Construction Update

Central Corridor

From Alabama St. to West St. on the north side of Washington St.

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES:
--Alabama to Capitol: Trail paver installation is complete.  Trail lights are installed, but not yet energized.  Signs, signal work, crosswalk striping, bench and trash can placement will be done as spot work and should be complete by mid-December.  Washington Street generally has all driving and parking lanes open, and the Trail and sidewalk are generally open to pedestrian use.  The spot work may temporarily take some parking or Trail space, but that should be for very short durations.  There is a little work that will be done in front of the Conrad in early January, but all construction signs, barricades, and barrels will be down by Christmas.
-- Capitol to West:  This work will begin in Spring 2012, after the Super Bowl.

TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS:
--There should be no traffic restrictions on Washington Street, with the exception of short term closures for spot work.

On-site construction manager: Greg Broz, (317) 383-1196, gbroz@rwa.com

Southeast Corridor

From Washington St. and Pennsylvania St. to Shelby and Prospect streets on Virginia Ave.

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES:
--Virginia from Penn to Delaware:  Concrete paver base is in place and pavers are generally installed.  Work is to be complete before the Big Ten Championship with the lanes and parking restored
--Virginia under the garage and CSX: Work continues on the "Swarm Street" project by Acconci Studio. The area should be complete by mid-January. 
-- CSX bridge to South Street:  Trail paver installation is complete.  Trail lights are generally installed, with some of them energized.  Signs, signal work, crosswalk striping, bench and trash can placement will be done as spot work and should be complete by mid-December.  Virginia, New Jersey and South generally have all driving and parking lanes open, and the Trail and sidewalk are generally open to pedestrian use.  The spot work may temporarily take some parking or Trail space, but that should be for very short durations.
--Virginia from East to the Interstate: This area will be built in 2012.  It has become clear from the construction delays north and south of this area that we could not finish this area before the end on the year.  The impacts of having the construction site open and traffic restricted over the winter helped drive the decision to delay the start of construction to Spring 2012. The Trail team has been in contact with building owners and businesses to look for the troublesome vaults that we encountered in Fountain Square.  We have found several and are currently planning remediation, so we shouldn’t be held up next year.   We also expect to find streetcar tracks in Virginia Avenue in this area, but we have a removal and disposal plan in place already.
--Virginia from the Interstate to Prospect:  Trail paver installation is complete except between Woodlawn and Buchanan; that area should be complete by December 1, 2011.  Trail lights are generally installed, but are not all energized yet.  Signs, signal work, crosswalk striping, bench and trash can placement will be done as spot work and should be complete by mid-December.  With the exception of the half block north of Woodlawn, Virginia Avenue generally has all driving and parking lanes open, and the Trail and sidewalk are generally open to pedestrian use.  The spot work may temporarily take some parking or Trail space, but that should be for very short durations.  We still plan to install the bus shelter just north of Woodlawn.

TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS:
--Virginia Avenue from Pennsylvania to Alabama is currently one-way north, but should be restored shortly
--Virginia Avenue from Maryland to Louisiana has only one southbound lane, the curb lane is closed.  This will remain closed until Swarm Street is finished
--New Jersey Street from Virginia to South is open for two-way traffic.
--South Street from New Jersey to East has the eastbound curb lane closed.
--East Street, just south of South Street, has the southbound curb lane closed.
--Virginia Avenue from the Interstate bridge to Prospect is generally open to all lanes and parking.   

Anticipated completion dates: Hardscape of areas between Washington and East Streets, and between the Interstate and Prospect Street should be complete in December 2011.  Hardscape of the area between East Street and the Interstate and all landscaping should be complete by Fall 2012.

On-site construction manager: Brian Andres, (317) 407-3760, briana@rwa.com

West Corridor

From Indiana Ave. to White River State Park on the east side of Blackford Ave.  See map.

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES:
--Indiana Ave. to New York St.:  Trail pavers and lighting have been installed everywhere.  There is an area of IUPUI crossing area pavers that should be complete by the beginning of December.  Bright green Trail crosswalks have been installed across Indiana Avenue, Michigan Street and New York Street; there will also be one at North Street.  There will be some rework of the north corners of Blackford and North Streets:  the existing corners were too tight for the increased traffic.
--Military Park:  This section is open.
--White River State Park: Work is ongoing along Washington Street.  Concrete paver base in place, and paver installation should be complete by early December.  Foundation work for a bus stop shelter on Washington will begin in the next week.
--Satellite work:  Work is happening on segments of the Trail that are already open and complete.  There are bus shelters to be installed on Mass Avenue, recycle cans have started to appear next to trash cans throughout the Trail, benches are being added at some bus stops, and some traffic control devices are being added to the Peace Walk to keep vehicles off of the Trail.

TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS:
-- Blackford Street has been reopened to pre-construction traffic patterns.  There will be short term restrictions for specific construction operations, but personnel to direct traffic will be provided.
--The northernmost lane on Washington Street will be closed during construction along Washington

Anticipated completion dates:
• Indiana Ave. to New York St. -- hardscape will be complete in early December 2011 ;
• New York St. to Canal and White River State Park -- hardscape was completed August 31 ;
• Most other hardscape installation is scheduled to be completed by mid-December. Some of the satellite work will extend in to 2012, but should be done by mid-May.
• Landscaping is scheduled to be complete by mid-May 2012.

On-site construction manager: Samer Butros, (317) 407-5543, sbutros@rwa.com