The Purple Line has a launch date

Tyler Fenwick

The Purple Line has been almost a decade in the making, and now it has a launch date: Oct. 13.

It will run 15.2 miles and connect Lawrence to downtown.

Starting at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center downtown, the route will go north up Capitol Avenue and Meridian Street before heading east along 38th Street and north again on Post Road. The Purple Line will end at Fort Benjamin Harrison and Ivy Tech Community College at 59th Street.

The Purple Line, which is the second of IndyGo’s three large-scale projects, will share some stops with its first: the Red Line, which runs north and south.

Along with new stops and buses, the Purple Line project includes improvements to traffic signals, sidewalks, curb ramps and other infrastructure.

Marion County voters made the transportation projects possible by approving an income tax increase in 2016.

Up next: the Blue Line
 

The final IndyGo bus rapid transit project also resulted in the biggest public fight.

The Blue Line will run east and west from Cumberland to the Indianapolis International Airport.

State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, almost crashed the project with a bill during the last legislative session that would have banned the use of dedicated bus lanes for one year and jeopardized funding.

The legislation prompted heated arguments within neighborhoods along the route about business interests, transportation efficiency and road safety.

A last-minute deal between city and state officials saved the project.

Construction on the Blue Line is expected to start in March 2025 and be completed by the end of 2027.