Clark Dietz was recently selected by Radius Indiana for our Trail Design expertise with the award of the Monon South Trail Design & Construction Oversight contract, a 58-mile transformative multiuse rails-to-trails project in Southern Indiana. “The Monon South Trail will preserve a piece of Hoosier history while promoting quality of place in our rural communities,” said Governor Eric J. Holcomb.
Prior to award, Clark Dietz and Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group prepared a visioning study for this new regional destination corridor. The abandoned railroad connects nine Indiana towns and cities and spans five counties including Clark, Floyd, Lawrence, Orange, and Washington Counties. This visioning process was a mechanism for gathering community ideas about the corridor’s future and then using that input to produce preliminary cross sections and high-level cost estimates for a regional recreational trail. Local stakeholders used this cost estimate to develop planning budgets based on ideas generated by their communities during the visioning process.
“Our smart teaming concept, built around the team we know shares our passion for this project, is grounded by the inclusion of the locally respected and highly talented TSW Design group. Our team has class-leading bench depth with the Trail’s priorities at heart,” said Clark Dietz President and CEO, Wes Christmas.
Our research included typical trail sections proposed in different contexts, trail renderings in different communities, and cost estimates based on varying levels of amenities and investments to engage the local communities along the route and ensure that the resulting plan direction was consistent with local desires and local planning for the future trail. Within the study area, four trailhead concepts were created to highlight various opportunities along the trail route. The amenities and services identified by the study would provide users with accommodations, access, and rest areas at regular intervals. These sites offer development opportunities to communities near the corridor. The Monon South Visioning Study became a critical component of the Next Level Trails grant application and the subsequent award of funding for the trail announced in 2023.
It is anticipated that the trail will enhance economic development and population growth throughout the Southern Indiana region, connect residents and tourists to cultural opportunities providing economic benefits to the region, and provide opportunities for all people to be physically active with this alternative mode of transportation.
