8/5 Red Line Update

Major construction throughout the Red Line project has ended. The biggest new change has been the addition of red Bus Only lanes downtown from 18th Street to the State House. Here are some photos of that area, from twitter user @robyniko:

Image Credit: @Robyniko
Image Credit: @Robyniko

Meanwhile, with the introduction of the street medians and some more red paint, traffic throughout the northern section at least seems to be moving at a sane speed, a first for my 20 year history of north College Ave. Here’s some new photos of the station at 52nd and College.

Image Credit: Kevin Kastner
Image Credit: Kevin Kastner

Image Credit: Kevin Kastner

 

Here’s the IndyGo E-mail blast for this week:

As IndyGo moves toward a Sept. opening of the transformational Red Line project, construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the entire corridor. With only 28 days to go, we are excited to share several construction updates for the coming days and weeks. Please note that dates are subject to change:

  • A pedestrian signal will be installed at 9th Street station this week. Drivers should expect some temporary traffic restrictions on Capitol Avenue at this location.
  • Finish work at station areas is continuing. This work is not expected to disrupt traffic, but crews will put construction barrels around the station platforms when working. Please protect our workers’ safety by continuing to drive carefully through and around work areas.
  • Punch list items are being addressed. Some items may require short-term traffic or parking restrictions. Many will be completed in less than a day, so please be alert for crews to be working anywhere along the corridor.

For more project details and a live construction map, visit www.indygored.com/construction.

Other Announcements:

College Avenue, Meridian Street, and Capitol Avenue have new configurations. If you live or work on those streets, be sure to watch the videos that pertain to you. Note especially the following key changes:

  • New center median on Meridian Street and College Avenue now restricts movements at all unsignalized intersections.  East-west through movements and left turns are permitted only at traffic signals on these corridors.  Crossing this median is a ticketable offense for all except emergency vehicles and buses.
  • Parking in bus lanes or travel lanes is prohibited.  Vehicles parking in bus or travel lanes will be ticketed and may be towed.

Red Line service will open to the public on Sept. 1.  Until that time, please continue to use local curbside stops to reach your bus. The station areas are still under construction and will not open for public use until Sept. 1.

New Routes:

 

When the Red Line opens on Sunday, September 1 there will be some adjustments made to local routes. Routes 12, 18, 19, 31, 38 and 39 will have updated routing. Routes 17 and 22 are replaced by the Red Line and will no longer be in service. Below are more details about each route.

 

Route 12

  • Route 12 will follow its current route outbound until Virginia Ave and East St. The route will turn on East St and head south to Beecher St then to Pleasant Run Pkwy where it will resume, its normal route. It will then follow the same routing inbound to the Transit Center.

Route 17 – Out of Service

  • Route 17 will go out of service. Route 18 will pick up from the Glendale Town Center to College Ave. The Red Line will pick up from College Ave and Broad Ripple Ave down to College Ave and 38th St. The new route 38, will pick up from College Ave and 38th St south to the Transit Center.

Route 18 – Broad Ripple

  • Route 18 will follow its current route outbound until College Ave and Broad Ripple Ave where it will continue over to Glendale Town Center, and pick up part of the old route 17. Route 18 will no longer run north up College Ave and over to Keystone at the Crossing. Riders will need to transfer routes 86 or 26 if their destination is Keystone Crossing. Riders can use the Red Line local service north of 66th St station to get up to 86th St and transfer to route 86 if needed.

Route 19 – Castleton

  • Route 19 will now use Alabama (Inbound)/Delaware (Outbound), then Ft Wayne Ave to Central Ave instead of Meridian St from downtown north to the 46th or 52nd St split where it will resume its normal route.

Route 22 – Out of Service

  • Route 22 will go out of service. The Red Line will pick up from the Transit Center down to Troy Ave. The new route 31 will pick up from Hanna Ave down to County Line Rd, Community South, and Greenwood Park Mall. Carson Ave, State Ave and Hanna Ave to Madison Ave will have no service.

Route 31 – U.S. 31

  • Modified Route 31 will leave the Transit Center and use South Meridian St down to Pleasant Run Pkwy where the route will head over the Madison Ave. It will head south on Madison Ave to Hanna Ave where the route will head over to U.S. 31 and pick up the southern portion of the old route 22. Madison Ave and McCarty St to Madison Ave and Pleasant Run Pkwy will no longer have service. Madison Ave and Hanna Ave to Madison Ave and Shelby St will also no longer have service. Madison Ave south of Shelby St will be served by Red Line down to County Line Rd at Greenwood Park Mall. There will no longer be service south of Greenwood Park Mall.

Route 38 – W 38th St

  • Route 38 will follow its current route inbound until 38th St and Meridian St where it will continue east over to College Ave. Route 38 will run down College Ave to Mass Ave and pick up the southern portion of old route 17 into downtown. It will then follow the same route outbound from the Transit Center.

Route 39 – E 38th St

  • Route 39 will follow its current route inbound until 38th St and Central Ave where it will continue down Central Ave to 22nd St and back onto Meridian resuming its normal route. It will then follow the same path outbound from the Transit Center.

Route 90 – Red Line Local

  • Every other bus on the Red Line will continue into local service north of the 66thSt station and south of the University Station. These portions of the route will be called route 90 and the bus stops signs will have route number 90 on them. Route 90 will function like local routes do today, stopping at normal bus stops on the curbside of the road and riders will need to enter the front door and pay/validate their fare.
  • North of the 66th St station the route will go on College Ave to 91st St, to Meridian, to 96th St and back to College.
  • South of University Station, the route will be Shelby St to Madison Ave, down to Greenwood Park Mall. There will be no additional service south of Greenwood Park Mall.

 

Exciting enhancements coming to local bus service:

  • Every route will be operating every day.
  • There will be weekend service enhancements.
  • There will be weekday evening service additions.

New route brochures and schedules coming soon.

Comments 13

  • There is no longer any bus service on College Ave from Mass Ave to 38th? That seems like a huge mistake, especially with all the new housing and Bottleworks coming on line.

  • When is IndyGo planning to implement the other local bus route changes that were on the 2019 map that is no longer on their website. Several other routes were supposed to be added and changed. Is this plan no longer happening?

  • So glad to see the 19 returning to central Avenue!

  • Waste of money!!!complete waste of money narrowing major arteries of traffic witout any thout of public safety!!!!

  • So excited to be able to take the bus from work to broad ripple! The new electric buses look snazzy.

  • Guys! I like the Red Line, but I LOVE the new cycle track that just opened on Illinois! I rode it for the first time today and for my money this is by far the most well-designed bikeway Indy has installed over the last 10 years. It’s well marked, protected by bollards and parking, signalized – there are even in-pavement sensors to adjust the timing of the lights based on the presence / absence of bikes or left-turning cars at key intersections. Well done Indy! This demonstrates a huge leap forward in they city’s ability to design bikeways. I hope it’s a sign of things to come.

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