City News & Updates

The City applied for an INDOT permit this winter for work in the Cherry and Market street intersection, which is part of a state route. We received the permit this morning and will be getting to work right away. Look for the intersection to close starting tomorrow, April 22nd.

The scheduled work is to finish installing a 36” interceptor that collects stormwater and sewage for everything downtown east of Cherry and north of Market. This smaller-scale project allows us to avoid impacting downtown with the most disruptive parts of Long-Term Control Plan construction.

Please follow marked detours and expect work to take about a month, weather permitting. Semi traffic will be rerouted to Broadway Street.

Ongoing construction on Tipton Street is part of a long-term project required by the federal government to stop untreated sewage from reaching local rivers and streams. Three construction crews are working concurrently to finish the project as quickly as possible. The full project covers over two miles, mostly along Tipton Street, and the work is slow because they have to dig deep through tough limestone and bedrock, with crews only able to complete about 25 to 50 feet of work per day. Despite efforts to accelerate the work, construction is likely to last until the end of the year.

Road repairs will be done in larger sections to avoid costly, piecemeal repairs, so residents can expect road closures and rough driving conditions during the project. Road restoration is tentatively scheduled to start in mid-May in areas where the pipe installation is finished.

The project is part of a plan to fix combined sewer overflows, a problem that has existed since the city's sewer system was built more than a century ago. These overflows can discharge into Flint Creek and the Little River during heavy rain or snowmelt, and the plan will help prevent this, keeping the waterways cleaner and safer.