FISHERS — A new pedestrian bridge is connecting Indianapolis and Fishers along the Nickel Plate Trail, giving walkers, runners and cyclists a safer, more seamless route between the two cities.
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City leaders from both Fishers and Indianapolis cut the ribbon on the 96th Street Bridge Friday morning. The $4.5 million structure is part of the broader 16.8-mile Nickel Plate Trail and is designed to improve pedestrian safety while closing a long-standing gap in the trail network.
For some residents, the bridge removes a barrier that had previously cut their routes short.
"I didn't even try it. We would turn around and just go back the other way," resident Tracy Mundell said.
Her husband agreed.
"We always just went the other direction," Steve Mundell said.
The bridge now allows trail users to travel much farther in both directions.
"You can make it all the way south into the city now. So to the fairgrounds area to connect over to the Monon [Trail,]" said biker Marc Yaeger. "You can go all the way north, south and head over to the other north-south section."
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said safety was a central goal of the project.
"We've got a lot of traffic throughout all of those areas, and we want the people, the bikers, the walkers, the runners that take advantage of the recreation to be safe and not have to worry about traffic," Hogsett said.
Beyond safety, the bridge represents the growing partnership between two of central Indiana's fastest-growing cities.
"We're able to tie our communities together in a meaningful way to allow Fishers residents to head down all the way down to the state fairgrounds, by the way, and then folks from Indianapolis can go all the way up to Noblesville," Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness.
"It's quite an architectural feature, the bridge itself," added Tracy Mundell. "We just never ventured over this way because it was not safe. So it's great to be able to get across and see what's on the other side.”
You can find more information about how the Nickel Plate Trail is connecting neighbors by clicking the link here.
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Logan MacDonald is the In Your Community multimedia journalist for Hamilton County. He joined WRTV in 2025. Logan loves to tell stories that hold the powerful accountable and give a voice to communities in need. Share your story ideas and important issues with Logan by emailing him at logan.macdonald@wrtv.com.
