Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:57 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27.
A statement issued to the Reporter by Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen on Wednesday explained the city’s consideration for rerouting the planned Pleasant Street Bypass.
The City of Noblesville’s statement said the following:
“The city has been analyzing a new East-West Corridor for more than 30 years. In-depth analysis, design work and consideration of alternative alignments has been performed in coordination with our team of environmental, historic preservation, and infrastructure design professionals, for many years.
“The B1 alignment was identified as the only feasible route to meet the purpose and needs of the project and serve the greater good of the entire community. The B1 alignment was approved following the extensive environmental process that is required by the state and federal governments.
“This process and the relevant factors has been explained in Public Information Meetings and Community Advisory Committee meetings. A copy of the city’s preferred alternatives analysis is available on the city’s website at this link.
“As we have explained to IDI and others, it is our understanding following extensive consultations with State and Federal government representatives that the B alignment, which cut through the middle of the Plum Prairie Historic District, would disqualify Noblesville from not just state and federal funding for all three phases of this project, but could also disqualify Noblesville from state and federal funding for all future projects, a risk we do not believe is appropriate or in the best interests of our residents.”
Translation “We were only too happy to put a highway through dozenss of homes but got told to BTFO by the state or they’d cut off our precious money”.