Welcome to Downtown: Do Not Enter

I am channelizer drum ARC 17. I’m on West Market Street, and I am not alone. 

Several hundred of my low-density polyethylene brethren and I will be popping up around Monument Circle’s main thoroughfares for the foreseeable future.

Please, stop banging your head on the keyboard and take heed: We are here in the name of beauty, and rebuilding, and, of course, football. 

In the grand scope of things, we are here to help with Mayor Greg Ballard’s RebuildIndy initiative. More specifically, we’re here to help with the Department of Public Works’ Monument Circle repair project. And while it’s a safe bet that the RebuildIndy initiative is the city’s way of getting gussied up for when the world comes to town next February during the Super Bowl, Molly Deuberry, director of communication for the DPW, says that isn’t the only reason.  

“It is long overdue,” says Deuberry, “It is also due to the public safety concerns that we have.”

“It is very convenient that (the work) will be finished for the Super Bowl, but that isn’t the main focus, ” adds Deuberry. “Once the project is complete, Monument Circle will have a revitalized look with increased pedestrian safety.”

DPW crews will repair broken and uneven bricks, the majority of which will be cleaned and reused. ADA ramps and brick gutters will be replaced and tree grates will be repainted.

The $1.5 million dollar project will wrap up sometime during the fall of 2011 and will affect Market Street between Capitol Avenue and Alabama Street, as well as Meridian Street between Washington Street and Ohio Street.

Yes, we’re an inconvenience, sure we’re an eyesore, but let’s get real Indy. With that big 300-foot crane hanging out and Ms. Victory missing from atop the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, downtown isn’t going to win a beauty contest anytime soon. But what do I know? I’m just a plastic drum.