INDIANAPOLIS — The Monon Trail Widening Project completed the first segment recently. The $1.8 million project widened the Monon Trail between 14th and 56th streets, providing smoother and safer space for walking, biking and commuting by trail.
This improvement is just one part of a larger effort to improve trails and greenways across Marion County. Thanks to the collaboration of local, federal, and philanthropic partners, over the next five years, the city will invest nearly $100 million into the trail system.
The second phase of this effort (similarly widening, resurfacing, and improving the Monon Trail corridor between 56th and 96th streets) is anticipated to begin construction in 2024.
The Monon Trail follows the abandoned rail line after the Monon Railroad was sold in 1987. In Indianapolis, the line was acquired and the first segment was completed in 1999. The line now extends from 10th Street near downtown to Carmel and beyond. More than 1.3 million people use the trail annually to commute by bike, or use it for exercise and recreation. It goes through the neighborhoods of Martindale-Brightwood, Broad Ripple, Mapleton-Fall Creek, and Meridian-Kessler.