Intersection Improvement Project Gets Underway on West Second, While Crews Continue to Brighten B-town

Bloomington, Ind. - With the approach of warm weather, the season of public infrastructure improvements has again gotten underway in Bloomington.  Along with the regular schedule of road, sidewalk, and sidepath reconstruction and street paving, the 2019 season includes the Second & Bloomfield Multimodal Safety project, preliminary stages in the process of building garages at Fourth Street and in the Trades District, and the interdepartmental coordination of upkeep and maintenance services known as “Brighten B-town.”  For the convenience of residents and businesses, the City will offer weekly status updates about the projects’ progress.

Having launched April 1, Brighten B-town has convened crews from across City departments -- Parks and Recreation, Public Works, and Utilities -- to focus their efforts on the first of ten geographical zones slated for coverage.  Working within Zone 1 (an area bounded by Indiana Avenue and Rogers Street, and Second and Tenth Streets), City staff have made the following improvements:
 

• 1,386 pounds of debris have been removed from the streets.

• 4,666 linear feet of curb have been painted.

• 51 fire hydrants have been painted.   

• 81 truckloads of mulch have been spread.

• 12 trees have been planted.
   

Just west of downtown, preliminary work began this week on a project to improve the signalization at the intersections of Second Street at Patterson Drive and Bloomfield Road at Adams Street, by including pedestrian signal indications and buttons, crosswalks, and accessible curb ramps.  Construction of the missing gap in an existing multi-use path along the north side of Second/Bloomfield between Adams Street and Patterson Drive is also included in the scope of the Second & Bloomfield Multimodal Safety Project. The east-west artery will remain open to traffic during construction, but with lane restrictions (to be indicated by signage and flaggers).  Construction is scheduled to begin May 1 and be completed by October 18.

The project is included in the Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMCMPO) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and is eligible for federal funding through the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and the Surface Transportation Program (STP). The bid for the project was awarded to Milestone Contractors.    


The status of other current City-led infrastructure improvement projects follows:
 

• Intersection of Tapp & Rockport Roads Project has been finalized; punch list walk through has been completed.

• In advance of the 17th Street Reconstruction Project, 17th Street is closed from the Vernal Pike bridge to the roundabout at Arlington Road for utility installation and relocation.  The project will add pedestrian amenities and roadway improvements along this busy corridor.

• S. Walnut Street Sidewalk Project is underway to construct the missing gap in existing sidewalk on the west side of S. Walnut Street between the National Guard Armory and Spring Dry Cleaning Property.  

• Mitchell Street Stormwater Improvements & Sidewalk Project is ongoing in the 900 block of S. Mitchell Street.

• Bids for the Kirkwood Maintenance Project will be opened Monday, April 29 during the Board of Public Works work session at 12 p.m.  This project will replace aging crosswalks and make pavement improvements from Walnut Street to Indiana Avenue on Kirkwood Avenue.

• City-wide paving projects are scheduled to begin the first week of May, following a schedule indicated on this interactive map: https://bloomington.in.gov/interactive/maps/pavingschedule
   

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