The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Town of Sheridan officials and residents celebrated the ground-breaking for the start of construction for phase
1 of the Monon Trail extension in northern Hamilton County today, Friday, May 31.
The Monon Trail projects have been extending throughout the state with plans and ideas to continue extending the trail to connect northern communities beyond the Indianapolis area, such as Clinton and Boone counties. The extension in Sheridan is expected to be an asphalt multi-use trail that will be constructed by the town with the help of the sum of $2,089,850 from the Next Level Trails grant.
Plans for the extension through Sheridan were kicked off after an announcement by Governor Eric Holcomb in April 2022 where he released information about the third grant round of the Next Level Trails program. Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Bortner commented about the connection that Sheridan and differing areas of the state will form through the implementation of the Monon Trail.
“The Monon Trail is well known for making connections between communities across central Indiana,” Bortner said. “The Monon’s excellent connectivity set an early example of ways we’d bring communities together through Next Level Trails, including with the construction of the Monon South Trail in southern Indiana. Next Level Trails has now helped communities build more than 100 new miles of trail–and growing—across Indiana.”
The Sheridan trail will be extend just less than one mile north from the existing Monon Trail at State Road 47 and will follow the historic railroad corridor north into the center of Sheridan to 2nd Street. The existing Monon Trails extends more than 26 miles and travels through Westfield, Carmel and Broad Ripple and terminates at 10th Street in downtown Indianapolis to the south end of the extension.
The second phase of the project is expected to extend the trail 1.1 miles to the north through the Hamilton County and Boone County line, which will complete the trail within Hamilton County. Sheridan Town Council President Silas DeVaney III expressed how the trail will improve the quality of life for the residents of Sheridan and provide a connectivity with surrounding counties beyond the bonds already established.
“Funded in large part by a $2 million grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Next Level Trails grant program, this project is a collaborative effort that will bring the Monon into our downtown, where trail users will find our richly unique Main Street lined with storefronts that are seeing new life,” DeVaney III said. “We are confident the completed trail will add to the quality of life for our residents as well as invite people to Sheridan that might not otherwise have a reason to visit our small town.”
As part of Governor Holcomb’s Next level Connections initiative, the Next Level Trail program acts as the largest infusion of funding for trails in Indiana history with more than $180 million being supplied through the program. The program is administered by the Department of Natural Resources who help facilitate the connections within and between Hoosier communities. According to the department, 34 of the 89 expected projects are complete, resulting in more than 100 miles of the trail being built since the program’s inception. Several projects are currently under construction, and other projects are slated to break ground within the next year.
In December, Governor Holcomb announced that 14 community were selected to receive a combined $31.2 million for the 28-miles of new trail expected to be constructed during the Next Level Trails fourth round. The grants were awarded to seven regional projects and seven local projects for the fourth round.
For more information about Next Level Trails, visit on.IN.gov/NextLevelTrails.