Greenwood commuters had to navigate around several road projects this year, but besides one final project that is slightly delayed, the traffic headaches should end this week.
The city has several more projects planned for next year, but they won’t have as big of an impact on traffic, said Kevin Steinmetz, Greenwood’s capital projects manager.
Madison Avenue from Pearl Street to Noble Street is back open this week.
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That downtown project involved removing the center turn lane, adding a 12-foot-wide trail with a grass buffer and two marked pedestrian crossings, one with a stop signal. That section of Madison Avenue was closed to traffic for several months.
“The new Madison Avenue provides an opportunity for residents and visitors to enjoy a more connected and walkable downtown,” Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said in a news release. “With the new updates, current business owners along the avenue will also benefit from increased pedestrian traffic.”
Crews also replanted several ash trees in the area that had to come down because they were dead, Steinmetz said.
The original contract on that project was for $1.8 million, but the city budgeted for $2.2 million, which is what they ended up spending, he said.
“We’ve heard from a lot of people who were obviously very happy that traffic was back open both ways. They’re also happy that it increased connectivity in the downtown area,” Steinmetz said.
Crews are putting final touches on a new road that was built south of the Greenwood Public Library between Surina Way and Market Plaza. The intersection of Meridian Street and Surina Way was lowered to increase visibility for drivers. And a 178-space parking lot with an underground stormwater retention system was built at the southeast corner of Meridian Street and Surina Way.
The new road could open this week, Steinmetz said.
The new parking lot has been open to the public for about a month. The only thing left to do on that project is landscaping, which the weather has put a damper on.
“It was originally very warm and then it automatically switched to very cold, so we skipped that ideal time to transplant,” Steinmetz said.
They’re waiting for slightly warmer weather before they move forward on the landscaping, he said.
The city came in under budget on that project. It cost about $3.3 million, but was estimated to cost $3.7 million, he said.
This year, the city also had a unique roundabout and “jug handle” built at a busy intersection — where Smith Valley Road meets U.S. 31 and Madison Avenue. It opened Oct. 9, ahead of schedule.
But work at the nearby intersection of Smith Valley and Meridian Street started immediately after. The entire project is costing about $2.9 million.
Crews made improvements to Emerson Avenue between Main Street and County Line Road as well. The only thing left to do on that project is plant about 60 trees, which were delivered on Tuesday, he said.
Next spring or summer, the city will start on phase 2 of that project, which will include adding traffic signals and decorative lighting along Emerson Avenue.
“There is some ad hoc private lighting along that road, but no real public lighting,” Steinmetz said.
The city is about ready to start work on a new 10-mile $62 million sewer line — known as the western regional interceptor — which officials have said is necessary to alleviate overflows with the undersized sewer system, comply with Indiana Department of Environment Management regulations and to be prepared for future residential and commercial development.
The pipeline will begin west of State Road 135 near Olive Branch Road and follow Turkey Pen Creek and Honey Creek to Paddock Road, where it will turn north and go past County Line Road.
The project has a hefty price-tag and is being funded by an increase in sewer rates through the year 2020.
Other projects in the works include improvements to some of the city parks, which will not affect traffic, demolition of the old Greenwood Community Middle School, part of which will be refurbished as an extension of the city’s community center, and construction of a new Department of Public Works building downtown, Steinmetz said.
Work on all of those projects is expected to begin this winter, he said.
Next spring or summer, crews will start work on several smaller projects downtown to improve the look of Old Town’s streets.
They will continue to widen sidewalks and remove left turns on Madison Avenue from Pearl to Main streets, and on Main Street from Madison to Meridian streets. Those projects are scheduled to start later in the summer, he said.
Construction will pick back up on Worthsville Road, this time east of Interstate 65 to the county line.
“Out there, (the road) sort of dies off and returns to a country road, so we’re going to go ahead and extend that look out to the city limits to make it all uniform,” Steinmetz said.
Next year’s projects aren’t expected to wrangle traffic as much as this year’s did, he said.
“This year was challenging because we had a variety of key corridors that we were working on. Next year’s projects are significantly bigger in terms of expenses, but are not impeding commuter corridors. So it’s not really going to lead to a bunch of closures, we don’t think,” Steinmetz said.
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As Greenwood wraps up this year’s projects, several more are in the works. Some they will start work on this winter. Others will wait until next spring or summer. Here is a look what’s done and what’s coming:
DONE
Improvements to Madison Avenue from Pearl to Noble street
Improvements to Emerson Avenue between Main Street and County Line Road
Roundabout and "jug handle" at Smith Valley Road and Madison Avenue
WRAPPING UP
Surina Way and Market Plaza connector road; new parking lot
IN THE WORKS
Improvements to Smith Valley Road and Meridian Street intersection
STARTING THIS WINTER
A new 10-mile sewer line west of State Road 135 near Olive Branch Road along Turkey Pen Creek and Honey Creek up past County Line Road
Demolition of the old Greenwood Community Middle School
Construction of a new Department of Public Works building downtown
STARTING NEXT YEAR
Traffic signals and decorative lighting along Emerson Avenue between Main Street and County Line Road
Improvements to Madison Avenue between Pearl and Main streets
Improvements to Main Street between Madison Avenue and Meridian Street
Improvements to Worthsville Road east of Interstate 65 to the county line
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