Karst Farm Greenway Under Construction

After 8 long years of waiting, construction on the Karst Farm Greenway, the north-south backbone of Monroe County’s active transportation network, has finally begun.

I have written about the Karst Farm Greenway previously here:  Karst Farm Greenway Plans Advance. That posting includes some additional maps.

Phase I of the Greenway begins at Karst Farm Park to the south, and ends at the intersection of Loesch Road and West Vernal Pike to the north. The northern end of Phase I is just east of Innovation Court, where the new Northwest YMCA is located. A multiuse trail already exists that will connect the Karst Farm Greenway to the YMCA.

Here is a map of Phase I:

I am also including some photos of the construction of the greenway. This is the northern end, at Loesch and Vernal Pike, where the construction began (working from north to south). The asphalt at the bottom of the picture is the existing trail that connects to the YMCA.

Dave O’Mara is the contractor.

Northern End of Phase I, on Vernal Pike East of Innovation Court

The trail continues south along Loesch Road, where it then cuts over to the west, to connect with Wayne’s Lane.

The trail then cuts through the woods to Wayne’s Lane.

The trail runs right up to the end of Wayne’s Lane. In the picture you can see where it gets very close to the house of a friend of mine. She would definitely prefer that it not be quite so close to her house. I am hoping the county will be able to plant more of a visual buffer when the project is complete.

Then, the trail parallels Wayne’s Lane, running to Profile Parkway.

The trail passes right by the Indiana Center for the Life Sciences, on Profile Parkway.

Then the trail crosses and cuts west along Third Street, and then cuts back south along Cobblestone Street and then to Park Square Dr to West Gifford, to Endwright Road.

The trail runs down Endwright Road.

Finally, the trail turns from Endwright Road into Karst Farm Park, which will be the southern terminus of the Karst Farm Greenway.

All in all, this is great news for supporters of the trail!

Watch for more news on the Karst Farm Greenway soon, as the bid will likely be awarded in the next week or two for Phase IIA, which will go north along Loesch Road from Vernal Pike up to the railroad. I’ll post more news when that bid is awarded.