A spokesman for the Indianapolis Department of Public Works said the condition of the historic, century-old bridge is worse than expected.
INDIANAPOLIS — A busy section of West Washington Street in Indianapolis remains closed and is expected to remain that way through next summer.
While the road is closed, nearby businesses are struggling to stay open.
“There’s no traffic here, so it’s having an impact,” said Ricardo Lopez, manager of 4 Friends Auto Sales. “Compared to past years, we’ve never seen cars sell this badly.”
Since 2010, Lopez said, his company’s business has relied on vehicle and pedestrian traffic along Washington Street, the main road into downtown Indianapolis.
But currently, commission-based employees are not bringing in much income.
“If this situation continues, they will want to work somewhere else,” Lopez said.
It was the same story across the street at Joe’s Auto Sales, where no customers were parked in front of the store on Wednesday afternoon.
With so many questions and no answers, Joe’s co-owners Matt Cryer and Theresa Cryer Fleck decided to take action: They created an online petition to the city.
“This isn’t just a headache,” Fleck said, “this is a real safety issue and a real detriment to the local businesses nearby.”
“This affects all of us,” Lopez said. “It’s not just one business that’s affected. It’s families that are affected, people who want to get something out of this to support their families. If this store closes, we have nowhere to go.”
The petition, just four paragraphs in total, calls for “immediate action” and reads in part: “We urge local officials to prioritize and expedite the completion of the Washington Street Bridge project.”
“Every single employee here has signed it,” Lopez said.
Staff at Temple Rents also signed the petition, and the proposed construction site is right up against their property line.
“At the moment no one is coming here to do any work, even demolition work, so it’s just frustrating,” one worker said.
A spokesman for the Indianapolis Department of Public Works said the condition of the historic, century-old bridge is worse than expected.
Now, the ministry says workers will need time over the next few months to meet certain regulations.
However, 13News requested more information about the project’s goals and timeline but had not received a response as of Wednesday afternoon.
“We want to know why,” Fleck said, “and make rebuilding the bridge a priority.”
“Transparency and better communication with the businesses along the corridor,” Temple Lentz staff said.
“We want to get this done as quickly as possible,” Lopez said.
Indy DPW says West Washington Street is scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2025.
