The warm weather season doesn’t just mean a time to lay by the pool or go on a bike ride, it also provides opportunities for the city to undergo road construction. For summer 2015, the main focus is roads near U.S. 31, including Main Street and Illinois.
When complete, these projects should help revitalize the Old Meridian corridor which already has several development projects approved, including the new Bru Bruger restaurant, Olivia on Main, Grain on Main and the St.Vincent Women’s Health Center.
“The improved north-south routes will really help people with this increased activity,” Carmel City Engineer Jeremy Kashman said. “You can already see all of the economic activity coming to the Old Meridian corridor.”
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said that the city has, “in essence added eight lanes of north-south capacity in addition to U.S. 31.” He points to Pennsylvania Avenue as an example of improved routes.
“That street didn’t exist,” he said. “The first week as mayor I asked what was going on with Pennsylvania and the chuckholes. Private road. The hotel owned it. So we acquired it over time and made improvements and extended it.”
In the meantime, motorists face several detours and not just along U.S. 31. Crews will start repaving Main Street in mid-June and the road should be reopened in mid-July.
“Right now, all of the traffic that exits on the U.S. 31 and Main interchange and wants to head east is detoured down Pennsylvania and then Carmel Drive and then Old Meridian to get back to Main Street,” Kashman said.
On Illinois, a roundabout is in the works at 106th Street with parts of the road closed to around mid-August. A full opening is expected in September, Kashman said.
Brainard said he’s heard from some businesses who are concerned about road construction hurting their sales, but he said everything will be so much better when it’s all complete.
“You have to look at it as a location where you want to be at for the next 10 years,” he said.
