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New section of Indianapolis Cultural Trail opens

Indianapolis Cultural Trail opens expansion

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The newest section of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail is complete, just in time for Taylor Swift’s concerts this weekend.

The South Street expansion leading up to Lucas Oil Stadium officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday morning.

This stretch of trail spans from New Jersey Street to Capitol Avenue along South Street.

The nonprofit behind the Indianapolis Cultural Trail says the opening of this section will better connect Stadium Village to surrounding neighborhoods like Fountain Square.

Executive Director Kären Haley says the trail is a great way for tourists to explore the city like locals.

It also comes as Visit Indy projects about 200,000 people are heading to the Circle City Friday through Sunday for Taylor Swift’s three concerts. They will be among the first wave of visitors to use this new section.

Haley says they were actually aiming to get it completed for the National FFA Convention & Expo that came to Indianapolis last week.

“Ideally, we would have finished it several months ago,” Haley said. “When we saw that it was nearing completion, around this time, our crews worked really hard to get it done by this huge, momentous weekend for our community.”

It took about three years to build this phase of expansion, which includes another section along Indiana Avenue that is already open.

There are plans to add more public art to the trail over the next year.

Haley says the expansion will continue to have an impact beyond Taylor Swift’s concerts this weekend.

“It takes you to where the best parts of the city are,” Haley said. “(It takes you) where our cultural institutions are, where our public art is, and you get the real part of Indianapolis along the way.”

The next phase of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail is currently being planned. It includes extending the trail over the White River on the west side of downtown.

Haley expects construction to start in late 2025. It will connect the existing trail to an expanded White River State Park, which broke ground on Tuesday.