Pedestrian bridge planned at 106th St. over White River to connect Fishers, Carmel trails
A pedestrian bridge over the White River at 106th Street will link the Monon Trail in Carmel to the Nickel Plate Trail in Fishers.
The Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation Department is expected to open engineering bids Thursday for the project, which will span from Hazell Dell Landing in Carmel to Fishers Heritage Park at White River, said parks department Director Michael Klitzing.
The connection will allow bicyclists and joggers on the multi-use path on 106th Street to seamlessly bridge a seven-mile distance between the Monon and the Nickel Plate.
“This will be one of the largest interconnected trail systems anywhere,’’ said Delaware Township Trustee Debbie Driskell.
Clay Township and Carmel Clay parks will pay the cost of the bridge and Delaware Township will fund the final approach, landing and connection to the 106th Street pathway on the Fishers side.
Delaware Township’s cost is expected to be $1.3 million. The cost on the bridge for the parks department and Clay Township will be determined when the bids are opened.
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The bridge will be 14 feet wide and 500 feet long. A new parking lot will be built at Hazel Landing Park to serve as a trailhead but bathrooms won't be constructed because the area is in the flood plain, Klitzing said.
The connection will serve as the southern loop in a Hamilton County trail system connecting the major greenways. In the northern end, users will be able to get from the Monon to the Nickel Plate by using the Midland Trace Trail, a connection nearing completion.
The Nickel Plate and Monon will also be joined in Marion County when Indianapolis builds its leg of the Nickel Plate. The extension, still in planning, will stretch from 96th Street south to 42nd Street near the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Carmel originally planned to build a footbridge at 126th Street south of Conner Prairie that would connect Carmel to Fishers, but Klitzing said it was determined to be too expensive because it would need a system of boardwalks on the Fishers side to navigate the rugged land.
Call the reporter at 317-444-6418.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bridge planned to connect Monon, Nickel Plate trails at 106th Street
