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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe city of Fishers plans to begin work next year on the delayed reconstruction project at State Road 37 and 141st Street.
Mayor Scott Fadness told the Fishers City Council during a budget presentation Monday night that the city will solicit contractor bids for the project in April. He said the city has set aside about $20 million for the project.
“We feel very confident that we’ve planned financially for this, and I have a firm commitment that we’re going to build this thing this upcoming year,” Fadness said.
Fadness added that he wants to make sure construction on a split-level roundabout at Allisonville Road and 146th Street is far enough along that beginning construction at State Road 37 and 141st Street would not create gridlock on the northwest side of the city.
In June 2022, the city rejected three bids that were higher than its budget of $26.6 million to turn the intersection into a roundabout interchange.
A financial update presented to the city council this summer said the city would continue waiting to solicit bids because material prices and labor costs were still too high. Fadness told the city council on Monday that the city has shaved about $5 million off the project’s cost.
An interim right-in-right-out configuration at 141st Street was put in place in January. Drivers are only able to make a right turn onto and off State Road 37.
Fishers, Noblesville, Hamilton County and the Indiana Department of Transportation are partnering on the long-term project to make a two-mile stretch of State Road 37 a free-flowing highway without traffic lights.
Grade-separated interchanges are complete at 126th, 131st, and 146th streets with State Road 37 reconstructed below to allow for continuous travel. At 135th Street, the signal-controlled intersection was last year replaced with a right-in, right-out configuration.
Fadness presented plans on Monday night for a $164 million budget for 2024 that includes a half-cent property tax reduction, a grant program for Fishers teachers, public safety spending and infrastructure improvements.
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Setting aside $20M for the intersection… remember when the TOTAL investment from Fishers was $12M for this project? Hahah https://www.fishers.in.us/CivicSend/ViewMessage/message?id=12694
That’s only 60% increase in 10 years, not too far off compared to the rest of Bindenomics. Gas is more than 60% higher now than just 3 years ago, and most groceries are about there also.
Will they ever remove the flashing Road Construction Ahead sign on the ramp from 69 to 37? It has run non-stop for the last several years.
I’m waiting for something like that to be done at the only remaining stop light before the main commercial area on 37–Greenfield Ave. It doesn’t matter what time of day, I always hit a 2-minute red light there.
I’m curious how Fadness and the city were able to cut $5 million off the cost of the project. They offer no specifics on what the ramifications of that decision are and how they will impact the quality of the final product (or at least IBJ didn’t ask for or report on any such considerations). I feel for the businesses in that area which I used to patronize regularly and now not so much. Not being able to cross SR 37 on 141st Street is a major problem for area residents and certainly for those nearby businesses. It’s also a safety issue, impeding police and fire response.
This entire project was underfunded from the beginning, with “surprise” costs ballooning the overall budget and leading to this mess at 141st Street. Someone screwed up big time.