Canal towpath closing for month-long study

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The canal towpath will close next month, as officials study ways to complete a plan aimed at preventing flood damage, the Department of Public Works announced Thursday.

Beginning no earlier than Feb. 2, the area of the path between Hampton Drive and Capitol Avenue will close for at least one month.

The closure will allow for analysis of a “proposed alternative to complete the southern portion of the Indianapolis North Flood Damage Reduction project,” the city said in a release. The study will be conducted in part by city officials and the US Army Corp of Engineers.

The project will involve mapping the area’s topography and testing the quality of the soil using specialized equipment.

Those who would otherwise use the towpath can use the detour below, provided by DPW:

  • Use the sidewalk on Michigan Road to 42nd Street.
  • 42nd Street to Haughey Avenue
  • Haughey Avenue turns into W. Hampton Drive
  • W. Hampton to Illinois Street
  • Illinois Street to Westfield Boulevard, where the towpath can be accessed

The study should be concluded by this summer.