Watch for some lane restrictions and neighborhood street resurfacing projects in this week’s Fishers-area road construction project listing.

Below is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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To learn more about the State Road 37 Improvement Project and sign up to receive text updates, visit 37Thrives.com. 

STATE ROAD 37 AND 141ST STREET
A pre-construction phase at SR 37 & 141st Street is currently in place. During this phase, 141st Street will be a Right-In-Right-Out (RIRO) traffic configuration. 
This is not the permanent configuration. This will allow for traffic to flow more freely along SR 37 until the next phases of construction can be activated. This will eliminate backups along SR 37 that have caused dangerous stops to the free flow traffic and backups on the 146th Street interchange. Again, this is not the permanent configuration for 141st Street. The full timeline for the 141st Street interchange will be provided after project bids are accepted in the Spring 2024. View detour routes here. 

View how to merge safely onto Northbound SR 37 from 141st Street here and onto Southbound SR 37 from 141st Street here. To navigate the merge, remember:

• Use the accel lane to gain speed, not stop
• Use your mirrors and pay attention
• Look for a gap in SR 37 traffic and safely merge

To learn more about the Clear Path Improvement Project and sign up to receive text and email updates, visit clearpath465.com 

I-465 & I-69
Drivers will see an increase in construction along the I-69 corridor in the coming months. This work will focus on reconfiguring the interchange at I-465 and I-69. New ramps will provide direct movements from eastbound I-465 and northbound I-465 to northbound I-69. Binford Blvd. will also be reconstructed to separate local traffic from traffic entering and exiting I-69 and I-465. Access to I-69 from Binford Blvd. will remain open. 

The ramp from I-69 North to 82nd Street and the ramp from 82nd Street to I-69 North is currently closed through late 2023. For detour routes and additional project information, visit clearpath465.com 

To learn more about the Nickel Plate Trail, view the Capital Project Dashboard here.

NICKEL PLATE TRAIL
The City of Fishers is working on the completion of the Fishers portion of the Nickel Plate Trail between Hague Road and 106th Street. The installation of pedestrian rail is currently taking place and pedestrian flashers are not operative at this time.

There are daily lane closures currently on Cumberland Road, just south of 126th Street for sanitary and water line work. The northbound right turn lane and the southbound passing blister will be closed.

Phase 2A traffic restrictions are currently in effect. These restrictions eliminate left turn movements from 146th Street onto Allisonville Road and reopen to two through lanes on eastbound and westbound 146th Street. 

Utility relocation work is ongoing.  Periodic lane closures may be necessary to complete this work.  Please watch for flaggers and workers in and around the construction zone.  

Construction crews are continuing to work on storm sewer installation and roadway grading.  Crews have begun working on the widening of the westbound bridge over the White River.  The contractor has installed cofferdams and delineating buoys in the White River for pier construction.  Please use caution if canoeing or tubing through the work zone.

For additional project information, visit the 146th St. & Allisonville Rd. Project Page here.

There is a sanitary sewer project currently taking place at Metro Airport at 106th Street & Allisonville Road. There are times where lane restrictions may be in place on Allisonville Road. Please use caution in this area.

106^TH STREET

106^TH STREET TRAIL RESTRICTIONS

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Six months ago, the Hamilton East Library Board hired Barnes & Thornburg to be the board’s legal counsel.  According to reporting by the IndyStar’s Rachel Fradette, that relationship is ending.

It is not clear which side decided to end the contract, based on Rachel’s reporting.

Read the full story at this link. (NOTE:  Your access to this story may be limited if you are not an IndyStar subscriber.  Online subscriptions are very inexpensive.  Once again, I urge everyone to subscribe to your local media!)

WTHR is reporting that a vehicle crashed into a home on Easy Street in Fishers Thursday.

For more on the story, use this link.

The saga of the Hamilton East Library Board continued Thursday afternoon with the board voting to “pause” the review of books in the teen sections of the Fishers and Noblesville libraries.  The vote was unanimous.

The board also voted to approve a slate of officers that include Tiffanie Ditlevson as the new board president, Craig Seibe Vice President, Ray Maddalone Secretary and Andre Miksha Assistant Secretary/Treasurer.  The vote to approve the officer slate was 5-2, with Michelle Payne and Craig Siebe voting no.  New officers begin their one-year term next month.

There was a lengthy discussion between Board Member Ray Maddalone and Library Director Edra Waterman about what does and does not apply to the policy that would require moving a book from the teen section to the adult collection.  There was a discussion about the meaning of the word “explicit” in the policy as it applies to passages about sex.

Maddalone argued John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars should not have been removed from the teen area of the library.  Waterman explained how the staff was interpreting the board policy and provided the board the guidelines being used to apply the policy as the books were reviewed.

The board will have a new member next month, as Laura Alerding was not re-appointed to the library board for another term.  Noblesville High School Teacher Bill Kenley is set to replace her following a recent vote by the Noblesville School Board.

The board’s policy requiring the review of all teen section books for evaluation of possible re-shelving to the adult section has been controversial with board meetings becoming adversarial the past several months.

The “pause” approved at the Noblesville Library session Thursday will allow talks between the board and the library staff to come up with a revised policy.

Many local officials, including Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness, County Commissioner Christine Altman, County Councilor Ken Alexander and other local officials have spoken out about the controversy that found itself in national news stories and the front page of the Indianapolis Star, the state’s largest newspaper.

There has been criticism of the board’s decision to hold this meeting at 3pm, rather than 6:15pm.  During the Nominating Committee meeting, Alerding said the meeting  start time was moved up due to a death in the family of board member Micah Beckwith.

Director Edra Waterman watches the board discussion

The Hamilton East Public Library Board voted to pause the review of books in the teen section. The vote was 7-0. This story will be updated later today.

In past years, Mayor Scott Fadness has presented his budget plans to the City Council Finance Committee before presenting his proposal to the full Council.  This year, the mayor presented his 2024 spending plan to the full Council first, then sent the proposal to the Finance Committee.

Wednesday evening, the Finance Committee received a detailed fiscal plan from contractor Mike Reuter.  I was not provided with a copy of that plan, but Reuter indicated some numbers in that plan could be subject to change once more details become available.

The details of the presentation would likely confuse many, so suffice it to say that the city’s income situation appears stable, although the extra Local Option Income Tax cash coming from Carmel as a result of action by the Indiana General Assembly was a three-year deal and will be coming to an end soon.

Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren emphasized that Mayor Fadness has not used that additional income tax distribution from Carmel for year-to year budget items, knowing the funds will end.  Last month, Carmel filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming the law giving Fishers some of Carmel’s income tax money is unconstitutional.

Following Reuter’s rundown, Hultgren briefed the committee on how the Fadness Administration is proposing to spend part of the Carmel income tax money, to the tune of $12 million.

Here is the mayor’s proposal:

–$2,2 million for trail connectivity

—$800,000 for a trail node at Hub & Spoke, including rest room facilities

–$3.5 million for landscaping, particularly on medians, replacing grass so city staff will not need to endanger themselves while cutting grass

–$1 million is earmarked for sidewalk repairs in neighborhoods throughout the city

–$750,000 for a Neighborhood Vibrancy program, providing an 80% city match, up from the previous dollar-for-dollar match

–$250,000 would to go an Urban Forestry program

–$3 million would be utilized for a 96th Street Vibrancy Program

–$500,000 in Teacher Innovation Micro Grants, where teachers at HSE Schools would submit requests for funding and a committee of retired teachers will decide the awarding of these grants.

The next Finance Committee budget meeting is set for 8:30am, Monday, September 11, with department heads explaining their budget requests.

When I talk to local Fishers officials about the situation with the Hamilton East Library Board, they are careful with on the record comments.  What I am hearing off-the-record is anger at the Hamilton County Commissioners and Hamilton County Council members for their appointments to the library board.  The City of Fishers has no appointments, nor does Noblesville.

Some very good reporting from John Tuohy of the Indianapolis Star shows that there are county officials that “expressed exasperation” over recent controversies centering on that library board.

Here is part of reporter Tuohy’s story:

“If they remove the director I would say immediately, ‘Show me the evidence’,” County Council member Ken Alexander said of Director Edra Waterman. “I would want to know exactly what she did to violate her duties.”

Alexander and Hamilton County Commission President Christine Altman expressed exasperation with the prolonged controversy over the library’s book relocation policy and the internal board machinations that have sparked outrage and placed an unwelcomed national spotlight on Fishers and Noblesville.

Tuohy quotes Commissioner Altman as saying she is concerned enough that replacing appointees on the board is possible.

This is one of the best stories published recently about this dispute, and you can access it at this link.  (Note: you may have difficulty accessing this story if you are not an subscriber to the IndyStar.  Online subscriptions are very inexpensive.  I’ve expressed this before and will do so again – subscribe to your local media!)

The City of Fishers has received construction bids on the first two Barrett Law projects, but the financing for each is not in place yet, so no dollar amounts have been released on exactly how much the construction will cost.  The Fishers Board of Works and Public Safety paused the projects in March when representatives of business interests expressed concern about not knowing how much the road improvements will cost.

Barrett Law allows a city to improve private roads, have the businesses along the road pay for that work over time, then take the roads into the city’s inventory.  The first two projects proposed under this arrangement are along the northern border of Fishers on the east and west sides of State Road 37.

City officials say the business owners in each area are aware of the construction cost bids submitted, but the true cost of each cannot be determined until financing has been finalized.

Mayor Scott Fadness reminded those attending the meeting that those business owners will be allowed to remonstrate at a confirmatory vote on each project in September.  At that time, the total cost and the cost to each individual business will be known.

The city has been working to repair and improve privately-owned roads, mostly in commercial areas, that have fallen into disrepair.

At Tuesday morning’s meeting, the board approved dedication of the private roadways, allowing the city to have the confirmatory vote in September.

The City of Fishers is in the market for a new Director of Planning & Zoning.  Mayor Scott Fadness announced at Monday’s City Council session that this would be Megan Vukusich’s last council meeting in that job.

Ms. Vukusich as taking a new job.  It was not specified where she is going, but there were references to her going to a more urban area to the south.

She has been the Director of Planning & Zoning for the City of Fishers since June of 2022. She was showered with praise during the council meeting for the job she has done leading that department.

Mayor Scott Fadness says Hyvee grocery and the Andretti Racing Headquarters are coming to Fishers.  He made the remarks at the end of a budget briefing Monday.

Hyvee is working with the city on some infrastructure issues, but the mayor anticipates a groundbreaking in the next few months for the Hyvee location at Southeastern Parkway and Olio Road.

Fadness expects the Andretti Headquarters construction to begin in earnest soon.  According to the mayor, recent litigation involving Andretti should not delay the project.