Riverside Avenue Trail on track to finish in summer of '23, paving to start this week

MUNCIE, Ind. − In a bid to beat a cold weather end to paving work, efforts to place the first of two layers of asphalt on parts of the developing trail along Riverside Avenue will begin next week, weather permitting.

David Heilman, landscape architect for Flatline Resources and project manager for the trail, being built between Jackson Street and Tillotson Avenue, said the paving work will include 2,800 feet of the trail comprise at both the east and west ends of new trail.

The new trail section actually goes from the roundabout at Jackson and Morrison Road on the north side of Jackson, east to Riverside. Then the trail lies on the south side of the avenue east to Tillotson.

The stone base for the trail has been laid at the west and east ends and is awaiting the asphalt, which Heilman said Thursday would be coming this week. Road construction projects throughout the area are expected to come to an end as cold weather shutdown asphalt plants in Indiana.

More:Riverside-Jackson Trail project to start work in 2022 with summer completion

Adam Leach, city engineer, said city contractors will continue with paving on its projects, including work in the Pettigrew Acres Neighborhood off of Petty Road on the west of the city, as long as asphalt is available this year. He said that the city is handling the paving of the intersection of Jackson and Riverside, which became part of an overall project for the neighborhood that started as a planned trail connecting the Morrison Street Trail with Ball State and Christy Woods at the east side of the Tillotson and Riverside intersection.

He said the paving at Jackson and Riverside should be done yet this year.

The street work that became much of Riverside project plan was slowed this year by utility work unconnected to the project, including a new water main and work on natural gas lines by CenterPoint Energy. Heilman said the gas line work will continue into next spring with work on completely rebuilding the road in places won't start until that work is finished.

People working on the project want to avoid completing the rebuild of the street, include a fix of storm water, flooding and pond issues by the Muncie Sanitary District, only to see the street cut open again for utility work a year or two afterward, Heilman said.

More:Changes made for property owners along planned Riverside Trail slow project as costs rise

Work also planned for yet this year will also include the development of a new sidewalk at the east end of the trail near Westminster Presbyterian Church. He said an sidewalk ramp compliant with the Americans with Disability Act will be built on the south side of Riverside at Tillotson, along with an 8-foot-wide sidewalk at will merge with the trail.

Plans also call for the "calming" of traffic moving off of Jackson street onto Riverside. Heilman said the intersection for eastbound traffic will change from the slight diversion off a curve on Jackson Street onto Riverside by creating a 90-degree turn and use of a separate slip lane to move onto the residential Riverside from the heavier and faster traffic on Jackson.

The project involves creating a sidewalk leading north from Riverside on Clarkdale Drive to the Catalina Swim Club at 1001 N. Clarkdale Ave. The move is intended to reduce the number of children waling in the street to get to and from the Club in the summer.

Funding for the project involves multiple sources, including grants administered by the Delaware Advancement Corp., the city administration and the Muncie Sanitary District. Last year cost of the project was estimated at $2.25 million with DAC awarded an Indiana Department of Natural Resources Next Level Trail Grant and an East Central Indiana Regional Development Authority trail grant.

The Muncie Sanitary District is funding the storm water improvements through its storm water utility program plus money from the American Recovery Plan. Muncie city government is using an Indiana Department of Transportation Community Crossings Grant to cover its part of road improvements.

The effort to build a trail, that will connect with the Morrison Road Trail and leads to the large Retail area along West McGalliard Road, started in 2019. Traci Lutton, vice president for economic development for the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance, said the trail is now expected to be done next summer.

Many homeowners with property alongside the trail objected to the plan and the trail, which Lutton said runs in the right-of-way. Some supported it. Heilman has maintained communication with people in the neighborhood and said the feedback has helped the project.

More:Riverside Trail project still moving ahead; construction expected this summer

Meanwhile, the city is working to finish its street paving work before asphalt plants shut down for winter. Leach reported to the Muncie City Council last month that this year the city worked with utility companies to complete the following work this year.

• Washington Street from Monroe to Ebright

• Reserve from McGalliard to Dunn

• Reserve from Centennial to Cromer

• Roosevelt from Walnut to Franklin

• Pershing from Charles South to the Tracks

• Riley from Jackson to Main

• Main from Riley to Alden

• Alden from Main to Ashland

Leach said the city completed paving for all of its state Community Crossing Match Grant paving for 2021 this year. Much of that work was delayed by contractor difficulties related to the pandemic.

Those streets were:

• N. New York Avenue from dead end to W. Neely Street

• Manhattan Avenue from Ind. 32 to Manor Street

• Greenwood Avenue from Washington Street to University Avenue

• Adams Street from Manning Avenue to alley

• Hartford Avenue from DePauw Avenue to Harvard Avenue

• Edgewood Road from Manor Street to dead end

• Elsie Avenue from Cowing Park Lane to N. Linden Street

• N. New York Avenue from dead end to Cowing Drive

• Elgin Street from Wabash Avenue to Purdue Road

• Winthrop Road from Brook Drive to Petty Road

• Winthrop Road from University Avenue to Gilbert Street

• Ashland Avenue from Alden Road to Riley Road

• Main Street from Martin Street to Calvert Avenue

• North Street from Dick Street to Greenwood Avenue

• W. Ace Street from Queen Street to Riverside Avenue

• Wilson Road from dead end to Manor Street

• Edgewood Road from dead end to Gilbert Street

• 23rd Street from Walnut Street to Mulberry Street

• 6th Street from Beacon Street to Penn Street

• 15th Street from Grant Street to Penn Street

• 14th Street from Grant Street to Penn Street

• 9th Street from Meeker Avenue to dead end

• 14th Street from Mock Avenue to dead end

• 13th Avenue from Burlington Drive to Eaton Avenue

• 14th Street from Meeker Avenue to 13th Street

• 13th Street from Meeker Avenue to 14th Street

• Mulberry Street - sections between Main and 21st streets.

An additional 10 street paving projects, slated for paving through use of $1.1 million in American Rescue Plan money, were completed:

• W. Beechwood Ave. from N. Forest Avenue to N. Alden Rd

• N. Briar Road from W. Riverside Ave to W. Brook Dr.

• N. Maplewood Ave. from W. Bethel Ave to dead end

• W. Riggin Road to W. Just a Mere Ln

• N. Hollywood Ave. from W. Riggin Rd to W. Just a Mere Ln

• E. 22nd St. from S. Madison St. to S. Hackley St.

• N. Claypool Rd from E. Wysor St. to E. Wilson Rd

• N. Edgewood Drive from E. Manor St. to Dead End

• N. Pauline Ave. from W. McGalliard Rd to W. Waid Ave

• N. Reserve Street from McGalliard Rd to Harvard Ave

Leach said the city is continuing to work this year on paving an additional 21 streets identified in the 2022 Community Crossing Matching Grant.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Riverside Ave. Trail to finish in summer '23, paving starts this week