By ADAM PINSKER
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Westfield city government plans to add a Monon Trail bridge over one street crossing and a tunnel under another to reduce vehicle collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists.
Mayor Scott Willis said the bridge for the trail will go up at 191st Street.
“It’s a blind intersection, as you can tell when the trail meets the road, (with) heavy vegetation. It’s hard to see as a pedestrian coming up to the area,” Willis said Friday.
The Republican mayor says the 191st Street project is in the design phase – without a price tag or start date – but the bridge was needed because injuries have happened at the intersection.
Trail user Jeanne Tomlin welcomes the pedestrian overpass at 191st Street. “I think it’s a good idea because I do think there are close calls. I always stop to make sure because I don’t think everyone understands. It’s better (to be) safe than sorry.”
The Monon Trail crossing at 191st Street on April 26. (Photo by WISH-TV)
In April 2025, 191st Street will be expanded from two to four lanes for motorists from Tomlinson Road to Grand Park Boulevard, the mayor says. A second phase will change the street from two to four lanes from Grand Park Boulevard to Spring Mill Road. Willis estimated the entire road expansion could range from $15 million to $20 million.
On another part of the Monon Trail in the Hamilton County city, construction will begin soon on a tunnel under 161st Street. The price tag will be from $7 million to $8 million.
The mayor said of 161st Street, “That’s probably our most dangerous intersection in the city due to the elevation changes coming up to that intersection. You’ve got a lot of blind spots, a similar situation where there is heavy vegetation, and pedestrians don’t have visibility of the road until they get right up on it.”
This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/local-news/westfield-takes-steps-to-make-monon-trail-safer.