$5 million
is the projected cost for construction
Fall 2016
is the expected start for phase one
Phase One
will include construction from Centennial Avenue to McGalliard Road
Fall 2017
is the expected start for phase two
Phase Two
will include construction from Riverside to Centennial avenues
SOURCE: Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler
A 17-year-old construction project to improve Wheeling Avenue could begin as early as fall 2016.
Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler and his administration are looking to add sidewalks on both sides of the street, expand the three-lane road to four lanes and add bicycle lanes.
The project is slotted to cost the city $5 million. The city will pay for 20 percent of the cost, and has approval to receive federal and state funding for the remaining 80 percent.
Tyler said his administration has been the first to take this project to the next level.
“The other administrations just sat on it,” he said. “We’ve moved forward with consultants to get prices and finding out what it’ll take to get it moved forward.”
The project’s importance comes from alleviating traffic flow, increasing public safety and aesthetics.
More than 10,000 cars travel Wheeling Avenue every day, according to the Delaware County traffic count.
“We hope that with the same development we have from Riverside [Avenue] to the downtown, we will have a smoother flow of traffic,” Tyler said.
The city hopes the design of the project will make the area more attractive to developers and also increase public safety by creating sidewalks and bicycle lanes.
What is preventing the project from starting this year is the designing work and money.
“There is still a tremendous amount of design work going into it,” Tyler said. “Originally, they had only one sidewalk [in the project]. I want both sides, four lanes, foundational work and bicycle lanes.”
In order for the city to give itself time to gather funding, the project will be broken up into two phases.
“We are confident by the time we are ready for phase one, we will have all of our money,” Tyler said.
Phase one, which will begin in fall 2016, will cover construction from Centennial Avenue to McGalliard Road. Phase two, which is projected for fall 2017, will stretch from Riverside to Centennial avenues.
Duke Campbell, superintendent for Department of Public Works, said the getting the right of way to perform construction on private property is another contributing factor the timeline of the project.
“What takes the longest is right-of-way acquisition,” Campbell said. “We are widening the roads, so we need permission to work on someone’s property.”
At this point, the only thing preventing the project from happening is if money from the federal government doesn’t come through, Tyler said.
“That’s always the issue with projects like this,” he said. “The funding mechanisms and if they stay in place.”
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