On October 7th Eli Lilly and Company in collaboration with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) will landscape and enhance the interchanges that form the western gateway to urban Indianapolis. They are:
Sam Jones Expressway, Harding Street, West Street, Illinois Street/Capitol Avenue and Meridian Street. To see maps of the project, click here.
Two communities will see their I-70 entrances made more welcoming. They are:
West Indianapolis Development Corporation and the Concord Community Development Corporation.
Led by KIB and INDOT, a team of urban planners and landscape architects have re-designed the I-70 corridor to integrate native grasses, flowering plants, and trees. Site-specific sculptures have been commissioned. Public meetings and open comment periods gave neighbors and business owners a voice in the planning.
It's another chapter in the Indianapolis story that brings together private companies, community leaders, multiple government agencies, and a lot of good people ready to put on their work gloves.
Now, the project called "A Greener Welcome" is about to begin.
The benefits of a project this massive can be measured in environmental, economic, and cultural terms. They begin to accumulate even before the shovels are packed up, and will extend across generations.
Environmental Benefits
Less mowing and lower maintenance costs. About 17 acres will be removed from the maintenance schedule. Most of that area will be "naturalized" with grasses and plants, and will reduce the frequency of mowing. The remaining area will be classified as "no mow" and the plants there have been selected for their appeal as they grow and mature. All of which means less gas burned and more budget money for other programs.
More O2 Less. CO2 Trees absorb more carbon dioxide than grass, and 1,600+ trees will be planted in A Greener Welcome interchanges. What will that mean for air quality along the corridor? Approximately 17,606 fewer net pounds of CO2 per year their first year, and more each year they grow larger. The data comes from a peer-reviewed computer analysis tool from the US Forest Service. The tool, called i-Tree Streets, measures the environmental impact of urban forests.
Economic Benefits
Making a better first impression. Indianapolis is working hard to attract businesses in the high-tech, life science, green automotive, and service-based businesses-along with their highly skilled employees. When decision makers arrive, it's imperative that we improve their first impressions of Indianapolis.
Indiana tax dollars aren't getting run over. The initial project costs are covered thanks to a donation by Lilly that was matched by a Transportation Enhancement (TE) grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Contributions from the interchange adopters will fund ongoing maintenance.
Cultural Benefits
Public art and the cultural landscape. All across Indianapolis you can see newly installed sculptures and public art. They're at the Indianapolis Museum of Art's new 100 Acres. They're along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. They're downtown, in permanent and temporary exhibitions. A Greener Welcome will join aesthetic experiences like these, placing Indianapolis among the nation's most renowned cultural centers -- and these cultural opportunities matter more than ever, especially to the talent new businesses are bringing into our city.
More of what makes Indy a world-class city. A Greener Welcome will advance the ongoing commitment to improving our city's amenities and infrastructure--including the new airport, the expanded Convention Center, and Lucas Oil Stadium.
