Medians along a section of 86th Street are being torn up to make way for new improvements.
The Indianapolis Department of Public Works started the project along 86th Street — from Meridian Street to Allisonville Road — last week. It will add pedestrian islands to medians and modify curbs to make them ADA-compliant.
The two-lane corridor will temporarily be reduced to one lane each way.
Officials say after construction is done the road will return as a two-lane corridor, with slight differences.
One noticeable difference will be a relocated traffic light. The light that currently leads from 86th Street into the Nora Corners Shopping Center will be removed, with the median extending through the space that intersection currently takes up. Access to those parking lots will be restricted to cars turning right.
That traffic light will be moved a few yards to the west, stopping car traffic to make pedestrians and cyclists safer as they cross the road to travel the Monon Trail.
Officials say there have been nine pedestrian and cyclist crashes in recent years between College Avenue and the entrance to North Central High School.
"One loss of life is too many," said Daniel Stevenson, DPW's deputy director of policy and planning. "Everybody deserves to be able to make it home safely at the end of the day. Get to where they're working. Get to where they're living, get to where they're playing safely."
This new project also aligns with the City of Indianapolis' Vision Zero policy, which has a goal to reduce traffic fatalities to zero.
LeAndre Level Jr. works with the Vision Zero task force set up by the city. He says while the city is doing its part to make streets safer, the most important factor to make this project work is responsible drivers.
"That responsibility is us making safe choices and following the rules and laws of the road," Level Jr. said. "But at the same time, making sure that we are conscious of others as we're on the roadways."
Work on the medians along 86th Street is expected to wrap up by the end of the year. Construction on curbs is planned to end by April 2027.
A bridge for pedestrians and cyclists elevated over 86th Street is planned to begin construction in late 2029 or early 2030.
Contact WFYI Digital Producer and Reporter Jeremy Reuben at jreuben@wfyi.org
