IndyGo Launches Construction of Purple Line, Linking Downtown Indy to Lawrence

(INDIANAPOLIS) – IndyGo has broken ground for its second express bus line.

The Purple Line will link downtown Indy to Lawrence, with stops at IU Health, the Children’s Museum, the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Fort Benjamin Harrison, and the Lawrence campus of Ivy Tech.

Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier says the promise of easy access to downtown has already spurred $100 million in economic development around Fort Ben. As the bus line takes shape, he predicts everything within a half-mile of the route will become prime territory for more growth.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says the route will run through some of Indy’s poorest and most densely populated neighborhoods, giving those residents access to job opportunities and plugging one of the city’s food deserts. Fresh Market plans to open an eastside supermarket in May, and IndyGo president Inez Evans says a bank and health center are in the works.

The start of construction will mean a rolling series of road closures along 38th Street, and eventually on Post Road in Lawrence.

The Purple Line follows the Broad Ripple-to-UIndy Red Line in seeking to strengthen bus service in Indy. Evans says the new route should begin operating in 2024. She says IndyGo’s next big expansion, the Blue Line from the airport to the far eastside, should be ready to start construction around the same time.