Indianapolis’ newest rapid-transit bus route, the Purple Line, which has been under construction in the City of Lawrence’s portion of the route for about a year, is wrapping up the project with plans to officially open this fall.

A ribbon-cutting celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 17. The location and other details have not yet been announced.

The Purple Line runs 15.2 miles between Indianapolis and Lawrence. It will serve several neighborhoods, major employers, cultural institutions and healthcare and educational facilities with faster and more frequent service, according to the IndyGo website.

The $188 million project will serve riders from downtown Indianapolis to the Ivy Tech Community College campus on 59th Street in Lawrence, cutting the wait time between buses serving Lawrence from about an hour to about 15 minutes.

“Utilizing rapid transit vehicles developed specifically for operation on IndyGo’s BRT lines, the Purple Line will follow IndyGo’s current Route 39 — one of IndyGo’s highest ridership routes,” the website states. “Segments of routes 4, 38 and 39 currently overlap to comprise portions of the Purple Line corridor.”

The Purple Line will share a route and stations with the Red Line from the Julia M. Carson Transit Center to 38th Street and Park Avenue. In that segment, riders will have service every 5 to 7 minutes, with Purple and Red line buses alternating along the stretch. East of the Park Avenue station, Purple Line buses will continue on 38th Street to Post Road and then travel north to Ivy Tech’s Lawrence Campus.

For more about the overall project, visit indygo.net/purple-line.