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Central Ave. bridge nears completion after over 2 years of construction

Central Avenue bridge nears completion

Travis Robinson | News 8 at 10 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Central Avenue bridge at Fall Creek Parkway is finally going to be opening in the next month or so.

Neighbors say finishing this $7 million project is going to be great, yet also not-so-great for them.

The road closed sign at the bridge has been flashing for more than two years. That means some people living in the area haven’t ever seen the road opened up to traffic.

“So has this (barricade) been up as long as you’ve lived here?” News 8 asked.

“Yeah, it has!” resident Brad Lohsl replied. “I think so…At least from what I remember, it’s been here.”

The Department of Public Works says construction has taken this long not because of weather or setbacks, but because it wants to preserve the bridge’s historic nature. And while the time to do that may not be worth it for someone who just wants to get across the bridge, others want the city to keep taking its time.

“It makes my drive downtown to work everyday, I think, a lot shorter and quicker because there’s not as much traffic,” resident Lindsey Lux said. “So I actually don’t mind it being closed.”

But that doesn’t mean everything is perfect. Detour routes have had high amounts of traffic that those streets normally would never see, and it’s not ideal for neighbors.

“It’s a little frustrating to see the traffic go by very quickly,” Lux said. “We have a lot of traffic that comes through, cutting up from College to Central and that can be frustrating, people not respecting the speed limits with children around.”

So while many are sad to see the quiet street turn crazy, many are ready to see how the neighborhood is affected with roads back open.

“I do think it’s going to make it more accessible just in general to downtown,” Lohsl said. “So I think it’s going to benefit the majority more. I think it will be nice, especially since Meridian is such a mess with the Red Line going in, but, yeah, I think it will be a good thing overall for people.”

DPW says they don’t have a specific date in July for when the project will be finished.