The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday night approved a plan to limit left turns at dozens of intersections on Meridian Street and College Avenue in preparation for the impending Red Line bus rapid-transit project.
The Carmel City Council still has to approve the agreement, which would allow the suburb to continue its plan to construct roundabouts along 96th Street at three intersections.
The spending is possible due to the state’s decision to raise the gas tax this year and its decision last year to return county option income tax revenue to cities.
The Carmel Board of Public Works approved the agreement with a Goshen-based construction contractor at a meeting Wednesday morning.
The updates to the manufacturer’s corporate offices are aimed at collaboration and efficiency. The overpass construction is meant to smooth traffic flow at a key entry point to the city.
The project will eliminate three of the five existing travel lanes from 116th Street to Main Street, add roundabouts at intersections, install a landscape median through the corridor and put multipurpose paths on both sides of the road.
Neither major-party gubernatorial candidate rejects using more so-called P3s in Indiana’s future. Both think the deals have their place, but they differ on when they should be used.
Indiana cities with a population of at least 10,000 are now allowed to impose an excise surtax and wheel tax to fund road projects and maintenance, under legislation passed this year.
Based on input from businesses, design options could include retaining walls, shifting the route to the east or west, and selecting different ramp locations.
The challenge, according to an author of a study of pedestrian-friendly cities, is picking up ground on the dozens of major metro areas that also are making walkability a higher priority.
Repairing the city’s aging sidewalks and installing new ones where none exist would run even more than the $720 million it cost to build Lucas Oil Stadium.
Cities and counties are set to receive millions of dollars for their road and street projects, but elected officials must decide whether to raise local vehicle taxes to keep the dollars flowing.
The first phase of the $198 million Red Line is slated to run from just north of Broad Ripple to the University of Indianapolis.
A surge of activity in the Mass Ave area is spilling over into the historic neighborhood that’s now considering whether to restrict parking on its streets.
Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said Gov. Mike Pence and Senate Republicans should embrace a long-term road-funding plan that increases taxes on smokers and motorists.
The list of projects slated over three years includes about 30 more roundabouts, other street improvements, and land acquisition. It would lead to property tax increases for most residents.
Republican leaders in the Indiana Senate would like to give $418 million to local governments to help improve their roads—a proposal that comes after Gov. Mike Pence was criticized for leaving local road funding out his recent infrastructure plan.
The key question is what the Indiana Legislature can do in a short or non-budget-making session, which will convene in January.
The city of Carmel, which had been counting on landing a federal grant to help fund a proposed $31.9 million overhaul of the 96th Street and Keystone Avenue intersection, once again was not picked.
The project includes adding a new eastbound lane on 116th Street from Interstate 69 to Cumberland Road. The city would have to acquire as many as eight homes in the area for the necessary land.
