just ahead of the Labor Day celebration, the project represented roughly $800,000 in investment and was supported through Indiana’s Community Crossings program, which has helped Bicknell secure millions in funding over the last decade. The result is an accessibility upgrade that goes beyond aesthetics. Residents can now walk on new, compliant sidewalks from South Side Park through downtown and north along Main Street toward the highway—and onward to the county fairgrounds. As Lynn notes, the scale is substantial: the improvements cover roughly a mile of continuous, user-friendly pedestrian infrastructure. These local upgrades have also been complemented by significant state and federal investment. After years of advocacy beginning in 2017, a major highway corridor project arrived roughly seven years later— bringing approximately $4 million in improvements that included repaving, drainage, updated signals, sidewalks, and striping along the business corridor. Together, those efforts have elevated safety and function, while improving the look and feel of the community’s primary commercial approach. Councilman Cullen emphasizes that while external partners have played a key role, local leadership has also had to secure and commit matching dollars— 92 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01
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