Fishers to close 116th St. in busy Nickel Plate District
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) – Wednesday evening, the city of Fishers will shut down 116th Street at the railroad crossing between Lantern and Municipal Drive. Crews told 24-Hour News 8 the closure would start around 8 p.m. Wednesday and last through the weekend.
The city says it needs to rehabilitate the railroad crossing and work on nearby crosswalks. There’s already a good amount of construction happening on 116th St., between Interstate 69 and the Fishers City Hall. City officials said they picked this week to close the streets because it’s Hamilton Southeastern’s fall break. Since schools are on break, bus routes will not be affected.
The stretch of 116th St. has really grown over the past few years. New restaurants, stores and apartments have recently gone up. After the closure, it will be more difficult to reach those places or even the interstate.
Kim Kwiatkowski, the owner of Blue Eyed Girl, a boutique near the railroad tracks, told 24-Hour News 8 she is worried about how people will get to her store. Kwiatkowski said her busiest days of the week are usually Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, but the closure could change that.
“We’re debating on closing or shortening our hours because this kind of is the center of all the construction, so we’re worried people will not be able to get in our parking lot. Several trucks already taking up half our parking lot,” said Kwiatkowski.
Pat’s Philly Pretzel employee Megan Faulkner said customers have not expressed concerns over the temporary road project.
“We placed a sign in the window a few days ago. No one has said anything about it,” Faulkner said.
Kwiatkowski said she wants to know how long the crews will be using the parking lot near her store. She hopes it will end after this closure.
“We really just wanted someone to notify us, and kind of give us an idea of what they’re doing and how long it will take or if they would be cutting into our parking. Because no one has even contacted us to let us know if they would be taking up our parking spaces or how long this actually will take,” said Kwiatkowski.
The city said all local business will still be accessible through local streets downtown. The official detour around the construction is south on Hague Road, east on 106th St., and north on Lantern to get back on 116th St.. Click here to see a detour map.
The Fishers Police Department will have patrols out during the busy morning and evening travel times, to help with the detour.