With $25M grant finalized, a look at Wabash River pedestrian/bike bridge plan
First announced in July 2023, a $25M federal grant looks at new trails along – and over – the Wabash River.
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WITH $25M GRANT LINED UP, A LOOK AT WABASH RIVER PEDESTRIAN/BIKE BRIDGE PLAN
A year and a half after getting word of a $25 million federal grant aimed at trail and riverfront projects – including a new pedestrian/bike bridge across the Wabash River near downtown Lafayette – Tippecanoe County commissioners this week were able to ratify an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration to put the projects in play.
Stan Lambert, Wabash River Enhancement Corp. executive director, said planning for the pedestrian bridge and other Wabash River Greenway projects outlined in the federal grant in 2023 would start ramping up this year.
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant was the biggest, yet, for the ongoing work to develop trails and access points along the Wabash River, including a 90-mile system tracing the Wabash River through Tippecanoe County and four other counties on either side.
Lambert said the idea continues to be to develop a series of riverfront loops available for walking, running and riding, connecting Lafayette and West Lafayette, and eventually offering extended trails into other counties and connections with trails across the state.
Lambert said firm timelines hadn’t been worked out, but the highlights of projects outlined with the July 2023 grant are still in play, expected to be designed and built by 2032. Among them:
Pedestrian/bike bridge: The bridge would span the Wabash River between Harrison Bridge and the Sagamore Parkway Bridge. In West Lafayette, it would connect just south of Mascouten Park, near where Happy Hollow Road meets North River Road. In Lafayette, the bridge would connect with the Wabash Heritage Trail between Lyboult Park and McAllister Park, where the former Lafayette Municipal Golf Course was. Wabash River Enhancement Corp. owns property cutting from the Wabash River to the trail on North Ninth Street, including former a former flooring outlet near the intersection of Canal Road and North Ninth Street.
Since 2023, Lambert said, WREC has done work outside the bounds of the grant to complete wetlands assessment and mapping required for the bridge project, along with a site survey.
“Having these two tasks completed will be very helpful for getting the project moving forward,” Lambert said.
WREC also had some preliminary bridge design planning done, with more expected this year.
North River Road/Tecumseh Trails Park improvements: The grant includes work on 2.55 miles of side paths and boardwalk on the east side of North River Road, from Mascouten Park in West Lafayette to Tecumseh Trails Park, across from the entrance to the Indiana Soldiers Home. Much of that path cross of some of the nearly three dozen properties the Wabash River Enhancement Corp. owns along the river corridor in the two cities and Tippecanoe County. From Tecumseh Trails Park, a trail bridge will be built across ravines and connect with a new trail linking access to Tippecanoe Amphitheater Park.
Other features: The $25 million grant also will be aimed at safety and Americans with Disabilities Act improvements on the North Ninth Street trail from Canal Road to Sagamore Parkway, including 20 new park-and-ride spaces for commuters and five bus stop connections.
Other work continues on the trail system outside the $25 million federal grant, Lambert said.
A pair of projects bid last fall will connect trails along North River Road on the west side of the river and the Wabash Heritage Trail on the east side to trail the dedicated bike lane along the eastbound span of the Sagamore Parkway Bridge. Lambert said the $6.4 million project, being done by Boggstown-based Beaty Construction, is expected to be done by early 2026. That project is part of Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grants.
The new trail funded by the federal grants along North River Road will go by an A-frame home at 3301 North River Road. WREC owns that property and plans to build a trailhead along with a small harbor and dock for a canoe/kayak put-in/take-out along the Wabash. Lambert said that project is scheduled to go out for bid in February and be done by early 2026. That project also will be funded by READI funds.
Lambert said other funds for the projects include $1.47 million from NCHS, $5 million from the Lilly Endowment, $30,000 from Rotary of Lafayette and $19,000 from the Jim Andrew Memorial Fund.
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THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
TOM BROOKS, RETIRED ATTORNEY, KILLED IN COSTA RICA: Terrible news this week in the death of Tom Brooks, an attorney from Lafayette who retired to Costa Rica. Indications from a news agency in Costa Rica is that Brooks was killed Tuesday when he intervened in an altercation at his home in the Central American country’s Atenas District, Alajuela Province. Brooks’ family posted a statement that “while the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear, we are in communication with local investigators and the Costa Rican prosecutor’s office as we seek to understand what happened.” Brooks’ work in Greater Lafayette included time as attorney for the West Lafayette Redevelopment Commission. Former Mayor John Dennis posted about the news on Facebook: “My heart is broken and my soul is bruised.”
ATM RIPPED OUT, CASH STOLEN: West Lafayette police were looking for three men suspected of using a stolen pickup truck and chain to rip an ATM from its base and steal cash drawers at Purdue Federal Credit Union at 1551 Win Hentschel Blvd. at 2:51 a.m. Thursday. According to police, three suspects were seen on security footage wearing hooded sweatshirts cinched up to hide their faces. Left behind were the chain and the truck’s bumper. County police later found the truck, which had been stolen from a nearby apartment complex. West Lafayette police were asking for anyone with information to call 765-775-5200.
PLEA IN 1-YEAR-OLD’S SHOOTING DEATH: Shatia Welch, the mother of a 1-year-old killed in July 2023 when her 5-year-old son found a gun in a Lafayette apartment and shot the child, accepted a plea this week, after her trial on neglect charges started in Tippecanoe Superior Court 2. J&C reporter Ron Wilkins had more details, including how the plea delayed a trial for Deonta Johnson, father of the 1-year-old: “Mother pleads guilty to neglect in her 1-year-old son's killing in Romney Meadows.”
MASSAGE BUSINESS ACCUSED OF PROSTITUTION, HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Lafayette police reported that its Special Victims Unit along with other local, state and federal agencies made arrests this week in connection with an 11-month investigation into a pair of massage businesses – one in Lafayette and another in Kokomo – that were suspected of being fronts for prostitution. Police arrested Deyang Yu, 39, of Carmel, and Airu Wang, 37, of Zionsville, at their homes Tuesday in connection with operations at Royal Massage, 405 Sagamore Parkway S., and The Kokomo Massage in Kokomo. Police reported that four adult women were found and taken in by LPD’s victim advocate.
AT THE STATEHOUSE …
Reporting for Indiana Capital Chronicle, reporter Casey Smith had a wrap-up of education bills working their way through the state House and Senate, including ones “seeking to improve K-12 student attendance, guarantee better teacher benefits, and remove ‘unnecessary or outdated’ school regulations.” Here’s a look: “Deregulation, athletics, teacher benefits. These Indiana education bills are on the move.”
Also via the Indiana Capital Chronicle, reporter Leslie Bonilla Muñiz had this on diversity, equity and inclusion rollbacks on the move at the General Assembly, including Senate Bill 235 – which would bar agencies from funding DEI offices or employees and from bestowing contracts or grants on entities that mandate DEI training – and Senate Bill 289, which cracks down on DEI in K-12 schools. From the story: “For four hours on Wednesday, and with tempers flaring throughout, Indiana lawmakers and plenty of constituents debated whether diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts combat or constitute discrimination.” For the full account: “Anti-DEI bills take heat but pass committee.”
Indianapolis Star reporter Hayleigh Colombo asked economists to do the math on a plan in the General Assembly to clear the way for Indiana to bring in dozens of Illinois counties looking to secede. Spoiler alert: It’s not a windfall for Indiana. Here’s more: “Gain a U.S. House seat, lose money? The potential impact of Illinois counties' secession.”
From Whitney Downard at the Indiana Capital Chronicle: “A bill prohibiting some Hoosier minors from using social media without their parents’ permission got bipartisan support in the Senate Thursday and now moves to the House for further consideration.” For more: “Social media ban for Hoosier youth gets the Senate greenlight.”
RECORD STORIES: I’m a sucker for these kind of music taste shaping/record listening stories that popped up in the past week or so:
The Wall Street Journal’s Anne Steel profiled Sulinna Ong, whose job it is to insert new music into old playlists and algorithms for Spotify. (I personally remain skeptical and critical about the limitations of music services’ AI to really get how I’d set up a radio station, but I was fascinated by this story, just the same.) Here it is: “The Playlist Power Broker Who Makes or Breaks New Artists. Spotify is known for its algorithmic recommendations, but Sulinna Ong brings a human touch to finding new hits.”
Washington Post reporter Janay Kingsberry told the story about Jula and her project of grief going through the massive record collection she inherited from her dad. Here’s a taste from the article: “Since September, the 24-year-old Polish Canadian woman has held a daily ‘listening party’ on her Instagram and TikTok pages, @soundwavesoffwax, to explore decades and genres of music that her father, Richard, loved — punk, disco, pop, jazz, techno, new wave and ’60s psych rock. The project has exploded online, resonating with more than 460,000 followers combined so far — and she still has nearly 10,000 records to go. ‘I hope to listen to them all,’ Jula told me on a blistering winter day from her home in Alberta. ‘This has been such a beautiful experience for me sonically and emotionally.’” Read it all here: “Her dad, the 10,000 records he left behind and a viral lesson in grief.”
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I've been intrigued by some of the Wabash River Enahancements plans for years. In addition to the above there has been talk of a sort of cable stayed bridge crossing where the Brown Street overlook is in West Lafayette. If they were to build that bridge, hopefully that would connect to the street grid over the railroad tracks too.
Another pedstrian bridge rendering years ago envisioned taking that railroad truss bridge downtown and converting the other half to pedestrian use, since it was built for two tracks.
Anyways, once the first true pedestrian bridge is completed, you will have a good car-free corridor connecting West Lafayette with downtown Lafayette. I kind of expect that to really grow in terms of foot and bike traffic.
"“Anti-DEI bills take heat but pass committee.”" So, Indiana politicians, when you whine that you can't get highly educated people to move to Indiana, look into a mirror. It's backwards, racist policies like this that keep educated people away.