Barring weather-related setbacks, the northern portion of the Nickel Plate Trail should be completed by the week of Oct. 18, according to City of Fishers officials.
When complete, the trail will have a total width of 16 feet, with 12 feet of paving and 2 feet of stone shoulders on either side. Some of the branches overhead need clearing but as few trees will be removed as possible, according to city officials.
“We’re not clearing trees. We are trying to preserve (the trees) as much as possible,” said Jason Taylor, Fishers director of engineering. “Even though you’re in an urban environment, we’re trying to maintain (the wooded qualities) so that you don’t feel like you are.”
Pouring asphalt is expected to take place during the last week of this month or the first week of October.
A speed table, which is similar to a speed bump, but smaller, and other pedestrian safety signs need to be installed at the trail’s crossing of 141st Street. Taylor anticipates the installation to happen during Hamilton Southeastern Schools’ fall break, the week of Oct. 18.
“We’re trying to minimize the impact to traffic, so we’ll do it during fall break when school is out and people are either out of town or doing things around the community so it will be less of an issue for everyone to follow the detour route,” Taylor said. “We still have three (speed tables) left to complete. One is being completed with this northern portion of the trail at 141st. One at South Street will be completed as part of our downtown tunnel project, and the last one, which isn’t funded yet, will be Hague Road.”
When the northern portion is complete, attention will turn to completing the tunnel in downtown, Fishers which is scheduled to finished by spring of 2022.
Taylor said Fishers is pursuing Next Level Trail grant, which the city would use to extend the Nickel Plate Trail south from 106th street to 96th street and include a pedestrian bridge over 96th Street.
