Road construction will begin as soon as next week on a stretch of Fox Creek Road on Bloomington’s southwest side, between Savanna and Beich roads. There will be a bridge replacement, new roadway, multi-use trail, and new traffic signals as part of the project.
The $18 million project will be completed in multiple stages over the next two construction seasons. That work will begin as soon as May 7, and it’s expected to be finished in late fall 2027.
Bloomington Engineering Director Jim Karch said this project’s addition of a 10-foot-wide trail north of Fox Creek Road will add a missing piece.
“The Constitution Trail portion of this project is one of the best improvements with this capital infrastructure. Right now, we've got a two-lane bridge with no multimodal accommodations. You can't get bikes across it. You can't walk across it, and that's restrictive for recreation and for people getting to their jobs. This project will fix the hole in the donut for the Constitution Trail,” said Karch.
This project aims to modernize the roadway to match the design of the areas east and west of the project limits. The new roadway will feature two lanes in each direction and a bi-directional center turn lane, for a total of five travel lanes.
“In the end, this bridge that's currently a two-lane bridge will be a five-lane bridge, two lanes in each direction and one bi-directional turn lane, which will turn into turn lanes at different points at different intersections. This is a massive project that's going to greatly impact the southwest side of the community,” said Karch.
The project includes the replacement of the existing bridge and the installation of traffic signals at the intersections of Fox Creek Road at Danbury Drive and Fox Creek Road at Beich Road.
The trail will be built north of the road to connect existing trails, while a sidewalk will be added to the south side.
Mayor Dan Brady described the work as a "long-term investment in safety, connectivity, and quality of life.”
While construction is underway, the road will remain open with one lane of traffic in each direction. The city’s construction contractor will stage operations to ensure that access to local businesses and residences is maintained throughout the project’s duration.
“We've been able to stage it so that businesses will have the access that they need to be able to get to where they are, as well as the park. There's a park on the west side of this project, over by Danbury, where there will be access to that park. So, we're able, through construction means and methods, to be able to have access to both businesses and the park throughout construction,” said Karch.
Motorists can view interactive road closure maps at bloomingtonstreets.com or sign up for email and text notifications through the city's website. If you are looking for more information on this project, visit the city’s website.
