By Anna Skinner
In addition to Westfield celebrating National Trail Day in June, the trails have continued to improve.
Anyone on the Monon can now easily walk the path now that it is fully paved all the way up to Ind. 32 and Quaker Park.
A bit of minor work is still needed when the weather allows, such as pouring concrete nodes. However, the freshly paved walkway will bring much improvement whereas before the unpaved path could get messy during rain.
In addition to the new pavement, Westfield received federal funding to construct a bridge on the Monon that passes over Ind. 32. The construction will be similar to that of the bridge that passes over 146th Street. Work will not begin on that project until 2018.
“I’m thankful to our public works department who worked hard to make sure this happened,” Mayor Andy Cook said. “Connectivity is very important to our community, and I look forward to enjoying the improved trail along with our residents.”
The next phase for Westfield’s trails is the construction of the Anna Kendall Bridge, which will be done in the fall and will assist with connecting the Anna Kendall trail up to Ind. 32, where the Midland Trace Trail and Monon Trail meet.
The funding for the trail construction is coming from the proceeds received from selling the city’s utility to Citizens Energy Group.
“The city is ensuring that our citizens are getting the most value as the administration continues to pay for infrastructure projects, such as paving trails, from the utility proceeds,” Cook said. “Selling the utility was a wise financial decision that has allowed the city to improve on Westfield’s infrastructure to make the city the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
