Indianapolis I-65/I-70 Southeast Gateway
Planning Study Report
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Setting the Foundation
The Problem
The Planning Study Area: Then and Now
A System-Wide Vision
Precedent Studies
Learning from Transformational Projects in Indianapolis
Learning from Similar Projects in Other Cities and States
Planning Study Results and Considerations
Structure
Timeline
Defining the Community’s Vision
Q4 2024 to Q1 2025
Q2 to Q3 2025
Q4 2025
Benefit-Cost Analysis
Cap Concepts
Concept 3 (Preferred)
Concept 2
Concept 1
Analysis of Key Objectives for Each Concept
Investment Returns
Funding and Governance for Long-Term Success
Funding
Value Capture
An Innovation Corridor
Why an innovation corridor?
What kind of innovation corridor?
Governance
Launching the Next Era of Growth
Innovation Corridor Development: Roadmap
Ongoing Engagement
Initial Assessment
Innovation Corridor Planning
Implement the Master Plan
Supporting Reports and Resources
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Indianapolis has an incredible opportunity to reconnect its neighborhoods in a way that dramatically improves prospects for long-term economic, social, and environmental viability. Rethink Coalition, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, in partnership with the City of Indianapolis, and The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and Foundation (Indy Chamber), and in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) have completed a Planning Study of the redesign of the I-65/I-70 Southeast Gateway of the Interstate Inner Loop in downtown Indianapolis to reconnect neighborhoods divided by the interstate through a comprehensive redevelopment plan (the SE Gateway Plan or Plan).
The Plan involves constructing an interstate cap to create green spaces, enhance transit, biking, and walking options, enable land for redevelopment, and improve local street grid. The Plan is part of the Rethink Coalition’s efforts to address the disconnection caused by the original Inner Loop constructed in the 1970s, which led to economic decline and fragmented communities. The Plan demonstrates how recessing and capping the Inner Loop can accelerate urban development, improve quality of life, heal the injustices caused by the original interstate construction, and move traffic and transport efficiently and effectively.
Key Objectives for the Study Area
Improve Quality of Life
1.
Build a lot more housing, including affordable and mixed-use options, add more jobs, parks, and greenspaces, and increase access to amenities, services, and third places for people to gather, socialize, and build community.
Increase Connectivity
2.
Improve walkability, expand the biking network, increase transit usage through transit-oriented development, and improve driving infrastructure.
Make the Streets Safer
3.
Improve dangerous intersections, calm traffic on major thoroughfares, and make pedestrian and cycling networks safer.
Reduce noise and air pollution, reduce the interstates’ visual impacts; repurpose interstate land for more productive uses.
Reduce the Environmental Impacts of the Interstates
4.
Create Opportunities for Economic Development
5.
Maximize the quality and value of land and increase the local tax base.
This Report presents the results of the Planning Study, integrating the work of the Study Team’s consultants with the prior studies and resources that informed and shaped their analysis. It starts with setting the foundation for the Planning Study, exploring the problem the original Inner Loop created in the Study Area, the impacts still felt today, a System-Wide Vision for the Inner Loop, the studies this Planning Study builds on, and learnings from infrastructure projects in Indianapolis and capping projects from around the country important to analyzing the interstate capping options for the Study Area and around the Inner Loop. The Report then moves into a discussion of the three capping options and considerations for the Study Area, analyzing each option in relation to the Key Objectives and identifying a preferred option. The Report concludes with clear next steps and a funding and implementation strategy for the preferred design—centered on launching an innovation corridor in downtown Indianapolis as a catalytic engine for economic growth and long-term value creation to fully realize the System-Wide Vision.
The reports and resources informing this Planning Study are listed below and attached.
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Letters of Support
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Historical Research Narrative and Findings
Indianapolis Downtown Interstate 65/70 System Strategic Advisory (Arup, 2018)
Indianapolis Inner Loop Total Value Report and Executive Summary (Arup and Indy Chamber, 2021)
Rethink Coalition ProPEL Indy 2025 10-5 Comment Letter with Attachments
Reasons to Love the Indianapolis Cultural Trail - A Legacy of Gene and Marilyn Glick
(Indiana University Public Policy Institute, 2015)
Assessment of the Impact of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene and Marilyn Glick (Indiana University Public Policy Institute, 2015)
Indianapolis Transformational Project Overview (Ginovus, 2023)
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Survey of US Recessed/Capped Interstate Projects
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Communities Finance, Economic Development, and
Governance Research and Resources
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Community Engagement Report
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Conditions Assessment
Appendix A. Location Maps Final Report
Appendix B. Traffic Analysis Memo
Appendix C. Environmental Constraints Report
Appendix D. Concept Drawings
Appendix E. Schematic Drawings
Appendix F. Opinion of Probable Cost
Appendix G. Final Concept Alternatives Definition Memorandum
Appendix H. Risk Register
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Community Engagement Workshop #3 Presentation
Slides
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Benefit-Cost Analysis
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Funding and Financing Mechanisms: Compilation of
Information Report
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Value Capture Districts in Indiana Memo
Articles:
University-Anchored Innovation Districts
Mission-Oriented Innovation Districts
The Rise of Innovation Districts (Article and Report)
South Bend RDC Approves $31M Bond to Advance Notre Dame Tech and Talent
District
Southeast Gateway Planning Study Abandoned Railroad Bridge Memo
Setting the Foundation
The Problem
The Interstate Highway System dramatically reshaped America's cities. In Indianapolis, when the interstates were constructed, little thought was given to the overall future development of the downtown. The overriding consideration was traffic flow and capacity. Nonetheless, in Indianapolis and in other cities, the interstates profoundly shaped city development. With massive, man-made hills on three sides of the central area and blocks of adjacent areas rendered unusable, the footprint of downtown Indianapolis was fixed to accommodate interstate travel. In virtually every other large city, the interstate comes through on bridges or in tunnels, approaches that were bad but had less impact than the manmade hills of Indianapolis. With today's understanding of cities, no one would repeat the decisions that were made in Indianapolis about the placement and design of the interstates.
Through several years of careful study and work, we know that the raised segments of the Inner Loop can be replaced with recessed interstates in a compressed footprint that will manage increased volume on the interstates, increase safety, and dramatically improve intra- city traffic and connectivity, all while achieving important quality of life and economic development goals. The recessed alternative meets all the needs and requirements of an interstate highway AND addresses the realities of 21st -century downtowns.
1950s and 60s Thinking
In the 1950's and 60's, downtowns were seen as compact areas of offices and commercial activity. Zoning and other tools were used to separate a city’s functions. Today, cities across the world are rethinking urban development, recognizing that heterogeneous development with housing, offices, and commercial activity inter-mixed are key.
If downtown Indianapolis were to consist only of office towers and government buildings, the existing mounds encircling the downtown might be acceptable. But that is not the present or future of Indianapolis. After a multi-decade period of decline in downtown Indianapolis, the City recognized that downtown should and could be more than a 9-5 place to work. New housing, hotels, higher education, health care, entertainment, and sports are the drivers of downtown Indianapolis’ rebirth, not new office towers or government buildings. If Indianapolis is to thrive in the future, it cannot be artificially constrained by highway mountains. We must return the hundreds of acres devoted to the Interstates to productive use and allow downtown to grow outward from the urban core. No one knows what downtown Indianapolis will look like in 2050, but we do know it will not look like downtown in 1950.
As we rebuild the interstates in downtown Indianapolis, traffic flow must be a consideration, but not the only consideration. Instead of making downtown Indianapolis bend to the needs of interstate travel, we must rebuild in a manner that accommodates interstate travel and the future of Indianapolis.
The Planning Study Area:
Then and Now
The problems created by the 1960s interstate design are significant and long-lasting in the Study Area. As the Research Narrative to the Southeast Gateway Study Project Research Findings for the I-65/I-70 Inner Loop explains, the 1910s to the 1950s, prior to the construction of the interstates, was a significant “Golden Era” period of development for the Fountain Square and Fletcher Place neighborhoods at the center of the Study Area. (Attachment 2) This thriving, working-class community continued to develop, with the population of the general area peaking at over 27,000 residents by 1950. The neighborhood was densely populated with both wood-sided and brick dwellings, many individual homes, some duplexes and apartments, churches, and a community center. The area also contained many movie theaters, shops, and businesses, making it a thriving hub of commerce, shopping, and entertainment.
By the middle of the twentieth century, the district began to face planning and development challenges similar to those of other cities’ downtown neighborhoods. Automobile culture continued to grow in popularity. As new suburban neighborhoods with new, mid-century modern shopping centers were built outside of the city and new highway systems were built to reach these new suburbs with their new, mid-century modern shopping centers, many residents were enticed to relocate away from the neighborhood’s commercial corridor and from downtown.
The downturn continued when the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act reached Indianapolis. In the 1960s, the interstate highway routes of I-65, I-70, the I-65/70 Inner Loop, as well as the I- 465 outside ring, were designed, properties were purchased, and families, businesses, churches, and schools were displaced en masse. The I-65/I-70 Inner Loop south split interchange cut the Fletcher Place neighborhood off from Fountain Square and Bates- Hendricks, while cutting Fountain Square off entirely from downtown’s Central Business District. I-65/I-70 officially opened in 1976, forever altering the community. Thousands of families lost their homes, significantly decreasing the neighborhood’s population by some accounts up to 30%.
Study Area – 1956
Study Area – 2025
These images show the vast swaths of houses and businesses removed to make way for the interstates.
The problems with interstate construction in dense urban areas and urban renewal projects are not unique to Indianapolis. But we risk falling behind other cities and states that are taking proactive action with their urban interstates.
As explained in more detail below, the Study Team examined what cities and states across the country have done to eliminate, modify, and otherwise modernize their urban interstates, undo past damage, and deliver enduring public benefit. We also participated in national conversations about that reform to capture best practices and realistic solutions. We’ve taken a hard look at feasibility and cost as we estimate economic returns from infrastructure investment.
As other states rethink their urban interstate infrastructure and gain significant advantages, our 1960s-style urban interstate infrastructure undermines Indiana’s competitiveness. We must do better with the gigantic backward “C” that is the Inner Loop and with the West Street Corridor (the fourth leg of the Inner Loop that was never built).
A System-Wide Vision
Rethink Coalition’s vision is a reconstructed I-65/I-70 Inner Loop that reshapes life, health, and economic growth in Central Indiana for the next 50+ years. We can accomplish this with a recessed, open-air interstate system featuring a compressed footprint and strategic capping. This will make room for additional economic development and value capture to help with up- front building costs, while improving connectivity and livability.
This image shows a recessed Inner Loop system with a compressed footprint freeing up State-owned interstate right-of-way (highlighted in blue) for redevelopment.
A recessed, compressed interstate system with strategic capping will:
Manage increased volume on the interstates,
Increase safety,
Dramatically improve intra-city traffic and connectivity,
Free up developable land,
Catalyze the development of underutilized land near the interstates,
Unleash billions of dollars in economic development potential,
Increase tax revenue,
Create a better environment for visitors, residents, students, and workers,
Reconnect neighborhoods, improving people’s access to jobs and services, and
Pay for itself.
The foundation for this vision is built on two feasibility and benefit studies and the results of INDOT’s ProPEL Indy, a study that engaged residents, businesses, and community organizations in Central Indiana to envision the future of I-65 and I-70 inside the I-465 loop in Indianapolis, including downtown Indianapolis.
Precedent Studies
The SE Gateway Planning Study builds on two prior studies prepared by Arup US, Inc., a global engineering firm that served as part of the Study Team. Those prior studies, made possible with significant funding from the Lilly Endowment, evaluate how interstate construction fifty years ago impacted disadvantaged communities and continues to burden vulnerable populations today. They also examined the technical feasibility and exponential benefits of rethinking how the Inner Loop will be reconstructed now that it is nearing the end of its lifespan:
The Indianapolis Downtown Interstate 65/70 System Strategic Advisory (2018) evaluates economic development opportunities and financing/delivery alternatives in rebuilding the Inner Loop. (Attachment 3)
The Inner Loop Total Value Report (2021) provides a high-level evaluation of two alternatives for rebuilding the Inner Loop: (1) rebuilding with the current configuration and (2) rebuilding with a recessed urban freeway and multimodal boulevards that replace the limited point access of the current connector-distributor system, restore local street grid integrity, and create infill opportunities for balanced development. (Attachment 4)
Both studies highlight the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for improving interstate travel in and through Indianapolis while creating a more just, resilient, sustainable, economically mobile, and healthy City and region. The SE Gateway Planning Study sets the stage for putting that opportunity into action within the Study Area and serves as a demonstration for the other areas of the Inner Loop.
ProPEL Indy
The Planning Study also informed and builds on ProPEL Indy, INDOT’s two-year Planning and Environmental Linkages study of the interstate infrastructure inside I-465, including the Inner Loop interstate sections in the Study Area. As stated on its website, the goal of ProPEL Indy was to identify transportation needs and community goals to set the long- term vision for investment in the I-65 and I-70 interstates within the I-465 loop. The Planning Study integrates the results of ProPEL Indy for the Study Area.
ProPEL Indy advances the System-Wide Vision for recessing other areas of the Inner Loop but leaves open a piecemeal approach. This Planning Study highlights the importance of a system-wide approach to avoid investing billions without much economic development return. As explained in Rethink Coalition’s ProPEL Indy 2025 10-5 Comment Letter with Attachments, there is a path forward. (Attachment 5) This Planning Study provides the map, demonstrating how the system-wide approach will work and what stakeholders want from that transformation.
Learning from Transformational Projects in Indianapolis
The Study Team examined other transformational projects in Indianapolis to understand what the impact of removing barriers to mobility and connectivity could mean. Among those were four familiar public improvements that bore economic, environmental, and urban quality of life benefits far beyond initial estimates:
Cultural Trail
was analyzed in two 2015 Indiana University Public Policy Institute reports on the 8-mile urban bike and pedestrian pathway: Reasons to Love the Indianapolis Cultural Trail (Attachment 6) and Assessment of the Impact of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail (Attachment 7)Removing Market Square Arena
was discussed in the 2023 Ginovus Report: Transformational Projects Overview (Attachment 8)Downtown Canal Project
discussed in the 2023 Ginovus Report: Transformational Projects Overview (Attachment 8)Monon Trail
discussed in the Monon Trail Report
As reflected in the expert reports attached or linked, each project created exponential positives for Central Indiana’s future. Property values within 500 feet (approximately one block) of the Cultural Trail have increased 148% from 2008 to 2014, an increase of $1 billion in assessed property value. The attached reports lay out the increased revenue and customer traffic for businesses along the Trail.
Preliminary projections from removing Market Square Arena point to increases in assessed property value of over $270 million, the generation of nearly $6 million in additional property taxes, and an economic development snowball effect triggered by the demolition of the Arena. Population in the Market Square area grew 54% between 2000 and 2020 (43% higher than Indianapolis as a whole), and state income tax collected per household is estimated to have increased by 146% (compared to a 21% increase in Indianapolis’ income tax collections during the same period). The Market Street interstate access ramp was also removed shortly after Market Square Arena was torn down, opening up the Market Street corridor and helping to catalyze the ongoing transformation of the Cole Noble neighborhood.
After its rejuvenation started in the mid-1980s, the Downtown Canal in the heart of Indianapolis has fostered a myriad of public and private projects that hug the Canal. Between 2000 and 2020, population in the Canal area increased 636% with household income increasing 375%. State individual income tax collected per household is estimated to have increased by 351%. In comparison, Indianapolis’ population grew 11%, household income grew 27%, and income tax collections increased 21% in that same period.
The Monon Trail is a 28-mile paved multi-use rail to trail in Central Indiana from Sheridan to Indianapolis. It now attracts over 1.3 million users annually in the Indianapolis segment alone. It has spurred significant development and value appreciation in adjacent areas while fostering community connectivity and health by enhancing urban green space in densely populated areas.
The benefits of these projects are not limited to the immediate project areas. When built infrastructure barriers are removed or turned from barriers into assets, the ripple effect can extend for blocks beyond the infrastructure improvement area itself.
Learning from Similar Projects in Other Cities and States
The Study Team canvassed what cities and states across the country have done with their antiquated interstates in the heart of urban neighborhoods and drew on the best of those suggestions for transformation and governance.
The attached Survey of US Recessed/Capped Interstate Projects provides an overview of 10 completed recessed/capped interstate projects and 7 that are in planning or underway. (Attachment 9) Each completed project has generated millions, if not billions, in new development.
When Cincinnati redeveloped and compressed the footprint of Fort Washington Way, it freed up 20+ acres of land, leading to an estimated $2 billion in new development, including the Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium, plus riverfront mixed-use projects. The highway design has enabled ongoing redevelopment, increased property tax revenues, and created thousands of jobs.
The Columbus, Ohio I-670 Cap at their Union Station reconnected neighborhoods, generated millions in new commercial revenue, and increased pedestrian traffic by an estimated 25%. Enhanced connectivity boosted the Short North area’s growth, attracting over $100 million in investment.
The St. Louis I-44 CityArchRiver project, completed in 2018, has spurred over $380 million in private investment in adjacent areas, increased tourism, added over 1,000 jobs, and helped boost visitation by 20%.
Planning Study Results and Considerations
Structure
Work on the Planning Study was divided into three core areas: (1) historical research and community visioning, (2) technical design and engineering, and (3) finance, economic development, and governance.
Community Engagement Team
The Community Engagement Team (CE Team) was responsible for conducting historical research and engaging the community in visioning the cap and urban design improvements in the Study Area. The historical research involved (1) uncovering primary, secondary, and visual sources of historical information for the Study Area and analyzing the sources and data, (2) developing the historical context of the neighborhood and the interstates, (3) completing a survey of the demolition data demonstrating the impact of the interstate construction on the communities in the Study Area, and (4) collecting oral histories of people living in the Study Area at the time the interstates were constructed. (Attachment 2, Historical Research). Community visioning involved hosting design workshops, leading educational events, attending neighborhood meetings, holding coffee hours, and participating in other efforts to gather background information and community feedback. (Attachment 11, Community Engagement Report) for the results of the CE Team’s work.
Technical Design and Engineering Team
The Technical Design and Engineering Team (TDE Team) was responsible for developing three high-level design concepts and evaluating them from an engineering and urban design feasibility standpoint, applying agreed-upon evaluation criteria and producing cost estimates. (Attachment 12, Conditions Assessment Report)
Long-time urban design and engineering professionals for Rethink Coalition involved in developing Rethink Coalition’s System-Wide Vision, assessed the three design concepts in relation to the System-Wide Vision as a demonstration project for that broader vision. As part of their analysis, they completed a Benefit-Cost Analysis (Attachment 14), a traffic study, and a report on the design implications for areas beyond the Study Area in relation to the System- Wide Vision. Their analysis is summarized in a separate report that supports this Planning Study. The professionals also explored developing a multi-use path to make an east-west connection across the Study Area north of the proposed cap, taking advantage of a green corridor and abandoned railroad bridge across the interstates. (See Attachment 18, Abandoned Railroad Bridge)
Finance, Economic Development, and Governance Team
The Finance, Economic Development, and Governance Team (FEDG Team) was responsible for analyzing the economic development scenarios for each concept, developing funding strategies, and identifying governance structures to manage decision-making for the new infrastructure and development. The FEDG Team’s work is incorporated below. Resources the team referenced are attached. (Attachment 10)
All three teams worked collaboratively, meeting regularly and sharing information and updates throughout the Planning Study.
Timeline
Defining the Community’s Vision
The Study Team facilitated a robust community engagement process throughout the Planning Study for residents to define the vision for various interstate cap designs. In facilitating the process, the Study Team emphasized:
Defining project goals and desired outcomes from a community-wide perspective;
Confirming the metrics for evaluation developed in the 2021 Inner Loop Total Value Report; and
Supporting and informing the INDOT’s ProPEL Indy study.
Q4 2024 to Q1 2025
The CE Team held Workshop #1 with the Study Area community to help clarify their values and priorities for the project in relation to the 2018 and 2021 precedent studies and literature referenced above. The TDE and FEDG Teams reviewed the precedent studies and literature supporting the System-Wide Vision and began work in their areas. (Attachment 11, Community Engagement Report, Workshop #1)
Q2 to Q3 2025
The TDE Team prepared three initial concepts based on Rethink Coalition’s original ideas outlined in the precedent studies and feedback from Workshop #1. The CE Team held Workshop #2 to share the initial concepts with the community and gather feedback. The TDE Team incorporated the workshop results into the draft concepts. The FEDG Team analyzed the economic impacts and structure of transformational infrastructure projects in Indianapolis and cap projects from around the country in relation to the initial concepts. In Q3, INDOT released its draft ProPEL Report. The Study Team reviewed the results and adjusted the concepts accordingly. (Attachment 11, Community Engagement Report Workshop #2)
Q4 2025
In November, the TDE Team joined the CE Team to present the draft concepts and gather final comments at a third workshop. (Attachment 11, Community Engagement Report Workshop #3) The Study Team finalized the individual reports and consolidated all the materials into this final Report.
Benefit-Cost Analysis
The Study Team completed an initial Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) to measure the benefits (defined by safety benefits, property value appreciation, and land value creation) that a capping project in the Study Area could generate for the southeast side of downtown Indianapolis. (Attachment 14, Benefit-Cost Analysis) The results of the Benefit-Cost Analysis over a 30-year period suggest that the quantifiable benefits of the SE Gateway Plan outweigh its costs across three scenarios assessed, including a conservative scenario with high costs and low/conservative benefits.
The potential net value created by the Plan, measured by the net present value or NPV, oscillates between $270 million and $60 million. Furthermore, the Benefit-Cost Ratio, a metric that compares the benefits of a project against the costs over time, indicates that for each dollar invested in the Plan, between $1.1 and $1.4 is generated.
Quantifiable projected benefits include:
Property Value Appreciation
Expected to increase by 10-20% within a 0.5-mile radius of the project, translating to a gain of $222 million to $444 million.Land Value Creation
New parcels for redevelopment valued between $16.7 million and $24.8 million (15 acres) or $23.5 million and $34.8 million (21 acres), depending on whether we assume a conservative or more optimistic value of the land per acre.Safety Improvements
Projected to reduce annual crashes significantly, resulting in annual savings of approximately $30.7 million.
Note that a BCA does not measure broader, place-based and market-responsive impacts typical of an economic development analysis, like job creation, wage and income growth, business attraction and retention, and catalyzing private investment. Hence, the positive results of this BCA point to even greater economic development benefits from a capping project in the Study Area.
Cap Concepts
The TDE Team developed three cap design concepts and ranked them on key factors and project goals. Their Conditions Assessment Report provides details about the three concepts. (Attachment 12) The discussion below provides an overview of the concepts, their rankings, and associated costs and benefits as presented during Workshop #3. (Attachment 13) As explained in Workshop #3, the three concepts are not final plans. Advancing any of the concepts to design and construction will require robust stakeholder and community collaboration to arrive at an optimal final design.
Also, the Study results must account for design considerations beyond the Study Area. Diving into those considerations was outside the scope of this Study. See the final section of this Report, Next Steps to a Better Future, for more discussion of these implications.
Concept 3 (Preferred)
Concept 3 is the most complex and most transformational. It involves modifying the current interstate configuration and will require INDOT and the City to deal with traffic challenges and potential lane reconfigurations outside the Study Area. The Washington Street interchange is one example. As reflected in the next section, Analysis of Key Objectives for Each Concept, Concept 3 offers the greatest return on investment, including achieving the economic returns necessary to fund the Plan.
Images showing Concept 3 and its integration with the interstate right-of-way (red line) and newly developable land (highlighted in peach) previously in the interstate right-of-way.
Concept 1 (Least complex)
This option can be built over the existing interstate and would not require modifications to the interstate outside the Study Area. We will still be asking the State to relinquish land for development, but the ask is much smaller.
Images showing Concept 1 and its integration with the interstate right-of-way (red line) and newly developable land (highlighted in peach) previously in the interstate right-of-way.
Analysis of Key Objectives for Each Concept
#1: Improve Quality of Life
Priorities:
Build a lot more housing, including affordable and mixed-use options; add more jobs; and increase access to amenities, services, and third places where people can gather, socialize, and build community.
#2: Increase Connectivity
Priorities:
Improve walkability, expand the biking network, increase transit usage through transit-oriented development, and improve driving infrastructure.
#3: Make the Streets Safer
Priorities:
Improve dangerous intersections, calm traffic on major thoroughfares, and make pedestrian and cycling networks safer. The interstates in the Study Area and those just beyond experienced 17 serious crashes over 6 years, 2 of which were fatal. The local street network recorded 80 crashes, 2 of which were serious and 1 involved a pedestrian.
#4: Reduce the Environmental Impact of the Interstates
Priorities:
Reduce noise and air pollution, reduce the interstates’ visual impacts, and repurpose interstate land for more productive uses.
Priorities:
Maximize the quality and value of land and increase the local tax base.
#5: Create Opportunities for Economic Development
Investment Returns
No infrastructure project of great magnitude makes sense unless we can expect substantial returns on the investment. Fortunately, the SE Gateway Plan provides that return with Concept 3, providing the greatest returns. More importantly, in conjunction with the System-Wide Vision, the SE Gateway Plan will help turn billions of dollars INDOT is already projecting to spend in downtown Indianapolis, as outlined in ProPEL Indy, into an investment with exponential returns in economic growth, increased safety, and improved quality of life.
Focusing just on the SE Gateway Plan, the economic potential underscores both the scale of losses caused by the original interstate construction and the transformative redevelopment opportunities created by the three proposed concepts. As detailed in the Conditions Assessment Report (Attachment 12), in 1956, before the interstate was built, the affected corridor supported a vibrant economic landscape. The following table shows the assets located within what would become the interstate right-of-way, their value, and what is located within the right-of-way today:
Right-of-Way
Land Use and Value in 1956
Private property = 59.8 acres
Housing units = 645
Churches = 3
Community centers = 1
Commercial space = 144,000 sq ft
Industrial space = 46,000 sq ft
Total value in today’s dollars: $241 million
Right-of-Way
Land Use and Value Today
Interstate land = 61 acres
Parkland = 2.2 acres
INDOT owns all the land, generating no
taxable value and offering limited local
economic benefit