BLOOMINGTON – Numerous infrastructure improvement projects are underway this season to advance community goals, including safety, sustainability, accessibility, equity, economic vitality, and quality of life in Bloomington. The City will provide regular public updates on a range of these improvements as they progress.
PARKS & RECREATION
B-Line Trail/Johnson Creamery Smokestack
On June 1st, Bloomington Parks and Recreation and Public Works created a cordoned-off detour, lined with orange barricades, through the southwest part of the parking lot south of City Hall. The detour area is for bicycle and pedestrian traffic only and bypasses the trail closure area to return trail users to the B-Line. This is a public safety precaution due to the need for repair of the 140-foot-tall Johnson Creamery smokestack, which was determined by inspection on December 14, 2021, to be potentially dangerous. The smokestack will not be lowered or removed until August at the earliest.
Farmers’ Market: Bollards at City Hall
Safety bollards (posts that create a protective perimeter) will be installed on Morton and 8th Streets beginning June 6th. These separate Farmers’ Market customers from vehicle traffic. Installation at each entrance is scheduled to take up to four days to complete and the majority of the work is planned to be completed by June 10th.
Griffy Lake Loop Trail
Contractors are continuing construction of the wooden stairway southwest of the causeway that will lead to the loop trail, which is still under development.
Lower Cascades
The project at Lower Cascades, Bloomington’s first public park, is substantially complete. This includes a significant streambank erosion project and trail and boardwalk construction. The new accessible boardwalk to the waterfall opened for public use on May 11th and last week contractors restored most of the original limestone picnic tables to new concrete pads; the rest are in the process of being restored. Contractors will still be on-site tending to final tasks but park facilities are open to the public.
RCA Community Park
Parks and Recreation crews finished removing old engineered wood fiber from the playground Wednesday, June 1st, and contractor Forest Commodities is scheduled to be on-site June 2nd or 3rd with a giant machine that blows in new engineered wood fiber surfacing. The playground will remain closed until all the new surfacing is in place. It is expected to reopen on the 3rd or 4th.
Rose Hill Cemetery
Asphalt removal work in the area identified for the planned scatter garden (designated place for scattering the ashes of those who have been cremated) is complete. Crews are now grinding away old asphalt on the existing interior road sections slated for resurfacing. Weather permitting, they will begin laying asphalt this week. The cemetery remains closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic while the work on the interior road work is completed.
ENGINEERING
Dunn Street Sidewalk – 15th to 16th Street
The Bid for the construction of a sidewalk on North Dunn Street between 15th and 16th Streets was published on May 29th and the City aims to award this project on June 21st. Construction is expected to be completed before the end of August. Lane closure on Dunn St will be in place during this project, and coordination with other projects in the area was included in the planning process. This project was prioritized and funded by the City Council Sidewalk Committee. More information can be found on the City website at https://bton.in/Yjh1Z.
7-Line
In a collaborative effort among Public Works, Planning and Transportation, and the Engineering Department, with funding and design from the Office of the Mayor, new decals were placed along the 7-Line to celebrate the new infrastructure. The City of Bloomington officially opened the 7-Line, a three-quarter mile long protected east-west bike lane designed to connect the B-Line, downtown, Indiana University campus, and eastside neighborhoods, in November 2021.
The Standard – North Walnut Street & 17th Street Lane Closures
The sanitary sewer main work associated with “The Standard” is anticipated to require a full closure of 17th Street between Walnut Street and College Street from approximately June 8th to June 20th. After the work is completed at 17th Street a single lane closure on North Walnut Street will remain between 15th Street and 17th Street until August 12th. Impacts to the intersection of 17th Street and Walnut Street are being coordinated with the City’s multiuse path project on 17th Street, which currently restricts 17th Street to one-way (eastbound) traffic only between Walnut Street and Dunn Street.
17th (Monroe to Grant) Multiuse Path
Construction on 17th Street between North Walnut and Grant Streets is ongoing and expected to be completed by August. To facilitate construction this summer, the westbound lane of 17th Street is closed to through traffic and a detour directs drivers to Dunn Street to the Bypass to College Avenue. This is part of a larger project that improves 17th Street; improvements include constructing a multiuse path along the north side of the street, constructing accessible sidewalk curb ramps, resurfacing the street, and replacing the existing traffic signal at the intersection of 17th Street at Madison Street/Kinser Pike. The improvements are part of the City’s commitment to sustainability, accessibility, and quality of life for all residents. The project is supported by federal funding as prioritized through the Bloomington Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Learn more about the project at bloomington.in.gov/engineering/projects/17thpath.
3rd Street & College Mall Road (INDOT Project)
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has a project to improve pedestrian facilities, accessibility (all ramps will be updated to current ADA standards), and respond to reported crash history at the intersection of East 3rd Street (SR 46) and College Mall Road. Construction began in May and is expected to be completed by July 30th. Construction involves some temporary lane and sidewalk closures.
UTILITIES
Hidden River Pathway Project
The two-year downtown stormwater infrastructure reconstruction project to prevent flooding during rain events will continue to necessitate lane closures on Grant Street. The City will coordinate with other construction and road projects as they reconstruct 1,829 feet of culverts to protect downtown area residential and commercial buildings.
PUBLIC WORKS
Headley Road
Headley Road remains one way going north between the IU Research and Teaching Preserve parking lot south of the Griffy Lake causeway to the first private residence north of Griffy Lake. Installation of the guardrails on both the east and west sides of the causeway is complete; crews await a window of good weather to paint and stripe the roadway prior to the road being reopened to two-way traffic.
Street Paving
Street paving on South Attlee Court from East Winston Street to Dead End is expected to be completed this week. Crews will next move to South Silver Creek Drive, from East Winston Street to Silver Creek Court.
