INDIANAPOLIS (November 19, 2019) —Beginning the week of November 19, IndyGo will begin implementing several improvements along the Red Line to address recent challenges. Portions of the mountable median along the Red Line route on College Avenue will be upgraded to concrete material to improve durability. All construction will be confined to the bus lane, preventing any disruption of general traffic lanes. In addition to median improvements, IndyGo will be working with the vehicle vendor, BYD, to install temporary battery boost chargers along the Red Line.
Removal and replacement of the medians will occur in sections over a 4 to 6-week timeline. All Red Line stations will remain open during construction and there is no anticipated disruption to transit service. Improper installation of the medians by the vendor and vehicle travel across the medians made the medians unstable and ineffective along College Avenue. Only the College Avenue medians will be replaced, the Meridian Street medians are functioning as designed.
“IndyGo is committed to providing reliable and frequent transportation for our current and future riders while holding our vendors accountable during the process,” said IndyGo CEO, Inez Evans. “The Red Line is the first of this caliber of service for the agency and across the nation; we are continuing to learn and update in order to provide the best service to our community.”
Due to colder temperatures, the battery range for the Red Line vehicles require an additional charge while in service to complete their scheduled runs. This was identified during initial testing in 2018 and IndyGo began working with the vendor to find a solution. Permanent inductive technology will be installed at the ends of the line in early 2020, but IndyGo and BYD are collaborating on a temporary charging solution to ensure enhanced performance this winter. Temporary chargers will be installed along the route and will provide a boost charge during scheduled layovers in the route, at locations to be determined.
These charging locations will be installed and manned at the cost of the vendor, BYD, and cost-sharing for the median improvements is still in negotiations.
Drivers should expect to see Red Line vehicles using general traffic lanes in sections with work underway and should heed all signs and flaggers to safeguard workers, drivers, and pedestrians along the construction route.
