A stretch of trail on Indianapolis' east side just got a glowing new upgrade. The city's Department of Public Works announced construction has wrapped on the final phases of the Pogue's Run Greenway expansion, bringing a new 100-foot pedestrian bridge, ADA-accessible ramp improvements and bike lanes to a corridor that winds through some of the city's near east side parks.
The completion was announced Friday, according to WTHR, which reported that Indy DPW posted the news on X. The greenway runs from East 10th Street near Arsenal Technical High School southwest through Brookside and Spades parks before ending at Pogue's Run Art and Nature Park, and the trail now extends more than five miles, per the station's report.
City officials put the price tag on this expansion at $7.2 million, the same report notes. Earlier reports cited different figures: WRTV described the 2023 groundbreaking phase as a $7 million project, while a separate WRTV report from mid-2024 put the city's total investment in the trail's construction at $7.4 million.
A Bridge, Bike Lanes and a Nod to the Past
The new 100-foot pedestrian bridge was part of the plan from the start. Back in October 2023, when Indianapolis leaders broke ground on this phase, WRTV reported that a 100-foot bridge in Brookside Park and ADA ramp upgrades were expected to begin construction that November and wrap by the summer of 2025. WISH-TV covered that same groundbreaking, reporting that construction was expected to start early the following month and be fully finished by summer 2025 — a timeline that stretched well past that original target before DPW's completion announcement this week.
One of the trail's signature features isn't new to this phase: glow stones embedded in the asphalt that light up for people walking and biking after dark. A 2024 report from WRTV called Pogue's Run Trail the first of its kind for Indianapolis, noting the stones illuminate the path in low-light conditions. The design firm CHA has said the luminous pathway pays homage to the former road it replaces, which once incorporated colorful glass from a nearby factory, as well as Spades Park's beloved Feast of Lanterns festival, according to a project description from CHA.
How It Fits Into Indy's Bigger Trail Ambitions
DPW officials say the completed expansion marks another step toward the city's 2014 Greenways Full Circle Master Plan, and that Pogue's Run Greenway is included in the city's newer, proposed Greenways for All initiative. Indy Parks and DPW have released an approved version of that master plan, according to the Indy Greenways Master Plan, a product of a year-long planning process that included extensive public engagement.
The Greenways for All proposal itself is considerably more ambitious than any single trail segment. Earlier this month, W FYI reported the plan calls for adding 260 miles of new greenways and trails on top of the roughly 120 miles that already exist — more than tripling the network, officials say, and putting close to 80% of Marion County residents, or nearly 800,000 people, within a mile of a greenway.
That full build-out would take time and money. The plan's high-priority projects alone would add 80 miles of trail at an estimated construction cost of $250 million, with $20 million in annual capital costs, and W FYI reported that completing just those priority trails could take about 13 years at the city's current pace. The plan itself has been two years in the making, built on studies, public comment and lessons drawn from other cities, according to the same report. None of those broader targets have been approved or funded as completed projects — they remain proposals, distinct from the finished work now open on Pogue's Run.
