Latest Monon Trail expansion stretches northward
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Nearly two miles are being added to the Monon Trail in the Sheridan area. Photo: Indiana DNR/Next Level Trails
Big changes and more miles are coming soon to the Monon Trail.
Why it matters: The trail, which stretches from 10th Street in Indy to the town of Sheridan, directly connects downtown to suburbs that are driving notable growth in the region as the city itself shrinks.
Driving the news: On Friday, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Sheridan broke ground on a $2 million Monon Trail extension in northern Hamilton County.
- The first two phases of the project will extend the trail nearly two miles from the existing trail at State Road 47 and take it to the Hamilton/Boone county line by 2025.
- The work is being funded through Gov. Eric Holcomb's $180 million Next Level Trails grant program, which is billed as the largest infusion of trails funding in state history.
The big picture: In December, Holcomb announced that 14 communities received $31.2 million for 28 miles of new trail as a part of NLT's fourth round, including the city of Lawrence getting $5 million for 1.83 new miles of the Fall Creek Greenway.
What they're saying: "The Monon's excellent connectivity set an early example of ways we'd bring communities together through Next Level Trails, including with the construction of the Monon South Trail in southern Indiana," said DNR director Dan Bortner.
- "Next Level Trails has now helped communities build more than 100 new miles of trail — and growing — across Indiana."
Yes, but: That isn't the only newness coming to the Monon.
- In Carmel, where it's called the Monon Greenway, it's getting wider and more walkable between Walnut Street and City Center Drive.
- The city is pursuing a $13 million project to add playgrounds and public gathering spaces as it widens the Greenway from 14 to 140 feet by the end of 2025.
- An $11 million pedestrian bridge is also being built over the White River to connect the Monon and Nickel Plate trails by August 2025.
The bottom line: Central Indiana is getting more walkable, so be sure to be polite on the trails.