NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — Crews in Noblesville are making progress on a major, multi-year infrastructure project.
As the Noblesville population grows, city residents said they hope it will improve mobility in congested areas.
“It’s growing. It’s going to continue to grow,” Denise Tague said. “They’re trying to make it better and better.”
Tague has had a front-row seat to increasing traffic and congestion downtown while managing Alexander’s on the Square for more than two decades.
“That’s the price of doing business,” Tague said. “But we want people to feel like they can come down and enjoy themselves, and not worry about how long it’s going to take them to get here.”
Tague said she is looking forward to the completion of “Reimagine Pleasant Street,” a $125 million project expected to improve access to downtown shops through a new east-to-west corridor.
“All said and done, this project will reduce traffic by about 30% in our downtown,” Mayor Chris Jensen said.
Mayor Chris Jensen said phase one of the project is already well underway. The foundation for a bridge crossing White River has been set. Two new roundabouts on 8th Street are scheduled to open next month, and that’s a day resident Mindy Walden said can’t come soon enough.
“Every one of our cars has been hit from the traffic,” Walden said.
Walden and her neighbors have been concerned since construction began, which has temporarily diverted cars down narrow residential streets.
“It’s just danger,” Walden said. “Mary Jo is a senior citizen, neighbors are senior citizens. People just don’t pay attention to pedestrians.”
Jensen said changing any traffic pattern brings growing pains.
“Anytime you put a new corridor through an urban core, there’s going to be some pain and we’ve tried to lessen that as much as we can to make sure that we’re listening, giving the time to residents and, and making sure it’s a safe area for folks to be,” he said.
The city needed to buy up dozens of properties to get started. Jensen said offers have been made to all home and business owners affected by phase one.
“We’re working diligently and being as respectful as possible to any residents and businesses along the way to compensate them fairly and find them adequate accommodations in Noblesville going forward,” Jensen said. “We’ve had a good outreach coalition in place. Nothing’s ever perfect when it comes to a project like this but I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
Jensen said they’re working through legal processes for the properties affected by phases two and three – which will be under construction next year. The goal is to have the project completed by fall 2025.
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