Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
ORLEANS – Five months after breaking ground on the first phase of the Monon South Trail, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Radius Indiana celebrated the completion of the first phase section of Phase 1A Thursday.
The 1.27-mile multi-use trail extends from Stetson Street to Freeman’s Corner in Orleans. Of that mileage, 1.18 miles of the trail surface is asphalt, and 0.09 miles is crushed aggregate. The project includes a new trailhead at Franklin Street with vehicle parking, a restroom, bike racks and other trailhead amenities.
The segment is the first of five to open in Phase 1 of the Monon South project. In total, Phase 1 will build 20 miles of trail, including segments in Borden, New Pekin, Salem, Campbellsburg, Saltillo and Mitchell.
A crowd of about 100 attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony that included speakers from Radius Indiana, DNR, Cook Group, the town of Orleans, city of New Albany and the project teams of Clark Dietz and Taylor Siefker Williams.
“The development of the Monon South Trail will be a game changer for attracting massive interest in outdoor recreation across this five-county region in southern Indiana, connecting locals and visitors alike to these communities and the many attractions available along the way,” said Dan Bortner, DNR director. “With the opening of this first section of Indiana’s future longest recreational trail, we’re blazing new trails while preserving history and sparking new economic opportunities.”
Fred and Laura Keller drove down from Martinsville to be among the first to ride on the trail. Avid bicyclists, they prefer riding on rails that have been converted to trails for safety reasons and ride two or three times a week in good weather.
“We’ve been waiting for this,” Fred said. “We see this as a great opportunity to stay safe. This section in Orleans is beautiful and we can’t wait to ride on it when the sections get longer.”
Bob Templeton made the trip from Bloomfield and brought his recumbent tricycle. Dressed in a Santa Claus T-shirt and Santa hat, he said he wanted to be among the first to ride the Orleans section.
“My wife and I travel around to different trails and it’s nice to have one this close to home,” Templeton said.
Orleans Town Clerk-treasurer Robert Henderson likened Orleans having the first trail opening to an early Christmas present.
“This is a very exciting day for all of us in Orleans,” Henderson said.
The first train to come through Orange County arrived in Orleans in 1851. Rail transportation continued to grow and at one time, 22 passenger trains stopped in Orleans every day, Henderson said.
“Orleans is very proud of its rich link to this corridor and to have eight miles of this incredible Monon Trail as part of our own community,” he said. “We can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Rail line history
The Monon South corridor follows a road survey commissioned by the Indiana Internal Improvements Act of 1836. In 1847, the Indiana General Assembly authorized a private railroad to build upon the route, and Gov. James Whitcomb signed a proclamation chartering the New Albany and Salem Railroad. By 1854, the railroad was complete from New Albany to Michigan City. In 1956, the railroad officially adopted the iconic Monon Railroad name.
CSXT, a successor to the Monon Railroad, last operated trains on this section of the line in 2008 and abandoned the rail line in 2018. Under a process known as railbanking, New Albany and Radius petitioned to negotiate with CSXT to acquire the out-of-service rail corridor for use as a recreational trail.
Next Level Trails funded the purchase of the 62.3-mile corridor on behalf of New Albany and Radius Indiana for the combined sum of $5.5 million. DNR granted Radius with an additional $22.3 million to support development of the 20 miles in Phase 1. New Albany will own and manage the portion of the trail in Floyd County and Radius Indiana will be responsible for the trail in Clark, Washington, Orange and Lawrence counties.
“The public support for this project has been positive and overwhelming. We’re so pleased that the Department of Natural Resources, the city of New Albany and Cook Group have been strong partners in the development of the Trail,” said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana. “Without their collaboration, we would not have been able to open this first segment of the Trail in 2024! We look forward to a busy 2025 as we open several more portions of the Trail and begin to activate it for the public.”
Next Level Trails
As part of Gov. Eric J. Holcomb’s Next Level Connections initiative, NLT is the largest infusion of trails funding in state history. The now $180 million program is administered by the DNR and facilitates critical trail connections within and between Hoosier communities. Forty-two of the 89 NLT projects are complete, totaling more than 113 miles of trail built since the program’s inception. Several projects are under construction, with many more slated to break ground during the next year.
More information about NLT is at on.IN.gov/NextLevelTrails.