Roundabout planned for busy intersection in Fishers

Fishers will convert the intersection of 116^th Street and Allisonville Road to a roundabout, making it the third crossing on the busy road in which traffic signals will be ditched.

The Board of Public Works and Safety on Tuesday approved $418,825 for construction, which is scheduled to be finished in February 2024.

The makeover comes as Fishers studies how to upgrade Allisonville Road from 106th to 146th streets.

HWC Engineering, of Indianapolis, was awarded an $85,000 contract last April to determine a cohesive economic development strategy and policies for the corridor, with an emphasis on the 116^th Street intersection. The initiative is in response to concerns by residents that the city was ignoring the area while focusing for years on development elsewhere, especially the Nickel Plate District and east of I-69.

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HWC also will suggest ways to construct trails and sidewalks that connect Allisonville to downtown Fishers to the east and the White River to the west.

The corner at 116th has two strip malls across the street from each other on the north side of 116^th Street, but one has a huge vacancy where a March grocery once stood. A Kroger across the street had planned to build a superstore on the Marsh site four years ago but dropped it.

On the southeast corner, Fishers bought the lot for $1.6 million in 2020 and had entered a deal with Metezoa Brewing to bring a brew pub there. But Metazoa pulled out last year because construction costs had risen beyond its budget.

Elsewhere on the street, the city plans to change the 96^th Street intersection at Allisonville Road to a roundabout in concert with a large mixed use development and nature park, RiverPlace Apartments and Riverfront Park. For about 10 years the intersection had been in a Michigan Left alignment in which left turn lanes were eliminated.

At 146^th Street, the Hamilton County Highway Department is building a roundabout on Alllisonville Road that will run under 146^th Street. The project will include a new bridge over the White River.

Contact IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317 444-6418 and john.tuohy@indystar.com. Follow on Twitter @john_tuohy

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Roundabout planned for 116th Street and Allisonville Road in Fishers