FORT WAYNE, Ind. (PRESS RELEASE): Today, Mayor Tom Henry joined residents and area business owners, along with the City’s Public Works Division, for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of street and sidewalk improvements on Maplecrest Road between State Boulevard and Trier Road. The $6.7 million project enhances safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists in an area with a daily vehicle count of over 19,000 vehicles.
A major north/south transportation route, Maplecrest between State and Trier, now offers a road expansion of four travel lanes, with traffic lanes separated by a median or center turn lane where needed. The roadway improvements also include a trail that connects to the Rivergreenway, a sidewalk, new water mains to improve reliability and stormwater pipes to enhance drainage.
In the past seven years, the City has invested nearly $200 million in neighborhood infrastructure enhancements. This year’s investment was $24 million, including streets, sidewalk, bridges and alleys.
Numerous meetings were held to gain input from area residents including design features they would like to see integrated into the Maplecrest project. Many of the suggestions for landscaping, barriers, crosswalks and lighting originated from neighborhood input.
“It’s encouraging to see the considerable amount of progress made on infrastructure improvements in our neighborhoods, even during this pandemic,” said Mayor Henry. “The input we gathered from residents who live and travel through this busy corridor was important in order to ensure we meet the needs of the community. We continue to be committed to improving the quality of life amenities that will keep Fort Wayne moving forward.”
“It’s reassuring to see the improvements to this highly traveled corridor,” said Public Works Director Shan Gunawardena. “There is now much safer connectivity for students walking to and from school, as well as pedestrians walking to the many businesses in the area.”
The improvements between State and Trier complement the Maplecrest extended project that was completed a few years ago by the Allen County Highway Department. That project extended the road and trail from Lake to Indiana 930.
The final portion of the two-season Maplecrest improvement project, from Trier to Stellhorn Road, is scheduled to take place in 2021 and when finished the total project will be a 14-block upgrade. Eighty percent of the road and streetscape improvements are federally funded, with the remaining 20% coming from the City’s Public Works budget.
