INDIANAPOLIS — When there’s heavy rain, Fountain Square can be prone to flooding.
“Standing water can be really bad to the roadway. It can deteriorate the roadway over time. And it can create potholes. Ruin cars as well," Indianapolis Department of Public Works spokesman Harrison Rice said.
Indy DPW is working on a solution.
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The Fountain Square Area Drainage Improvements Project is a $14 million project that aims to alleviate historical flooding in the neighborhood.
“We’re actually putting in a bio retention rain garden to help facilitate the separate storm sewer that we’ll be installing. This will be an enhancement to the bollards that are present on the cycle track on Shelby Street," Rice said.
Rice says the project is expected to last through the end of the year.
That means folks should expect road closures and detours in the near southeast side community.
“They’re killing us. We lose a lot of business. We open 24 hours. We hardly get like 15 to 20 customers in 24 hours," Sam Singh said.
Singh manages the Conoco Gas Station on Shelby. He says aside from a handful of regulars who live in the neighborhood, it’s been difficult to attract customers.
“The street is closed. The customer is hard to come here. We're losing a lot of customers. It’s hard for delivery persons; they can’t deliver their stuff because the whole street is closed. We can’t get our stuff. We can’t get our gas delivery," he said.
Across the street is Bow Wow Meow Boutique.
“It’s gonna hurt… for a lot of these places I don’t know what the answer is," Owner Jessicah Powers said. “These businesses need your help. They’re going to need your support. This is a long, long project and some of them might not survive if they don’t get that support."
If you have questions about what roads are closed and what the detour routes are, Indy DPW has more information on its website.
Rice encourages business owners to hang tight during this process.
“We know that construction is disruptive. We all want to see the final product immediately. We have to go through some hurdles to get to the pros of this drainage project," he said.
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Nico Pennisi is the In Your Community reporter for Downtown Indy. He joined WRTV in October 2022. His passion has always been telling the stories of people who often get overlooked. Share your story ideas and important issues with Nico by emailing him at nico.pennisi@wrtv.com.
