City of Lawrence Welcomes $1.7 Million Next Level Trails Grant

Lawrence, IN – On Wednesday, April 20th the Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced that the City of Lawrence will receive $1.7 million through the Next Level Trails grant program. Funding from the grant program will be used to construct 2 10-foot-wide pedestrian trail segments in Lawrence.

The first segment is Lee Road from East 59th Street to East 63rd Street and second segment is East 63rd Street from Lee Road to Winona Drive. Construction of the trail will span 1.2 miles. Through this development, pedestrian connectivity will be provided to Fort Harrison State Park, The Fort Golf Course, Fort Benjamin Harrison YMCA, Lawrence Civic Plaza, the Arts for Lawrence Cultural Campus, Forest Glen Elementary School, Fall Creek Valley Middle School, Ivy Tech Community College, Lee Road Park, Lawrence Community Park, Watson Farms subdivision, 20+ restaurants, and nearly 200 individual businesses.

“Receiving this news is especially rewarding given the difficulty in constructing trails in a largely ‘built out’ city. The hard work of Joe Murphy along with the cooperation of the Next Level Trails grant program will allow us to take the next step toward bringing our community together,” said Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier.

The City of Lawrence was one of 38 communities across the State of Indiana that received funding from the Next Level Trails grant program this round. In total, the DNR awarded $65.7 million in trail grants during this cycle, funding over 77 miles of new trail construction.

This announcement ends a 2 ½ year effort by Lawrence staff to secure funding for this trail segment, spanning two cycles of the Next Level Trails grant program. “Securing this level of investment in trails for Lawrence has been an incredibly rewarding process,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Murphy.

“These funds will go a long way toward helping us reach our goal of creating a network of paths throughout Lawrence providing connectivity, mobility, and safety to our residents and those who visit Lawrence.”

With funding secured, City staff estimate that construction of the trail could begin in late 2023, with construction complete by 2024. For more information on the Next Level Trails grant program, please visit the program web page at https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/recreation/grants/next-level-trails.