OUR WORK
The opportunity for a vibrant and undivided community is within reach. Our focus is comprehensive “early” planning for the rest of the I-65/I-70 Inner Loop.
Planning early is the only way to maximize innovation, collaboration, livability, and inclusive economic development. If we wait, safety and traffic issues will dictate the timeline and design—putting us far behind competitor cities and states.
We learned this lesson the hard way. Research and collaboration on the North Split interchange should have begun years before decisions were made about the design—and should have focused on much more than traffic. By the time INDOT shared its North Split plans, it was too late to make more fundamental and meaningful changes.
Building the Knowledge Base
Leading Community Engagement
A Vision for Reconnected Neighborhoods
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In partnership with the Indy Chamber Foundation and the financial support of the Lilly Endowment, we took the first critical steps toward reimagining the Inner Loop. In spring 2020, we engaged the expertise of Arup Advisors, an international transportation and engineering firm. Arup conducted a thorough comparison of the Rethink Coalition’s Recessed Highway Concept with a “rebuild elevated” strategy.
The Visionary Study gives us a solid framework for community conversations about maximizing the benefit of this massive infrastructure project. Instead of simply moving traffic, we can reset the stage for a new 21st-century capital city. This has benefits beyond the city and will help position the region and the state to thrive.
This also promotes equity and environmental justice in all aspects of urban highway planning and construction. Learn More
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In September of 2023, Rethink Coalition submitted to INDOT, the City, and federal transportation authorities a Comprehensive Report for INDOT’s I-65 lane improvements and widening project (SAFE). The Report details our observations and requests for the overpasses and interchanges along the I-65 interstate corridor involved in SAFE based on nine months of multiple neighborhood meetings/listening sessions and technical analysis by our transportation planning consultants, Storrow Kinsella Associates (SKA). You can read more about the Study below. Learn More
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Rethink Coalition was awarded a highly competitive USDOT Reconnecting Communities Planning Grant, working with the City of Indianapolis as a co-applicant and with INDOT. The year-long project will center on a study of capping the Virginia Avenue “South Split,” where the Inner Loop is already partially recessed, reconnecting neighborhoods and creating a Southeast Gateway into the City. Learn More
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We’ve seen real progress, and already achieved so much. Rethink Coalition began in 2017 focused on improving plans for the North Split interchange—the first phase of Inner Loop reconstruction. Through collective efforts, we helped make significant changes to benefit downtown Indianapolis and all of Central Indiana. Learn More
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Rethink Coalition advances discussions with state and local policymakers, community leaders, and stakeholders on a more comprehensive vision for the Inner Loop. Learn More
