Local officials cut the ceremonial ribbon Friday on the Purple Heart Parkway extension.
The new stretch of roadway connects U.S. 231 South to Ladoga Road.
The project was a collaborative effort between the city and Montgomery County, creating opportunity for major growth and development for the community.
“This project symbolizes a major paradigm shift in our community,” Mayor Todd Barton said during the ceremony. “We are no longer sitting idly by hoping growth can come to our community. Today we are cultivating growth and taking control of future development.”
The city and county split the remaining cost of the project after receiving a grant from the state’s READI funds program for $2.3 million.
Designing started for the project in summer of 2023. Construction for the road began in April and was contracted out to Crider & Crider.
Barton said the new road has opened nearly 1,000 acres of land for housing and retail development.
“In fact, this new roadway is a key component to numerous new projects that are in the pipeline, ready to flourish once this piece of infrastructure is in place, so stay tuned,” Barton said.
Barton added that most of the land surrounding the road has already been purchased. He expects that no later than the second quarter of next year announcements will be made of new retail developments.
Barton is hopeful there will be new grocery retail projects coming to Crawfordsville with the completion of the Purple Heart Parkway extension.
“Grocery is the big gap,” he said, referencing recent retail gap analysis reports he’s received.
The mayor thanked several people and businesses that collaborated to make the project happen including the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Montgomery County Highway Department and the Montgomery County Commissioners. He expressed gratitude Gov. Eric Holcomb for the READI funds and County Administrator Tom Klein for his part in collaborating with the city. He also thanked VS Engineering’s Victor Van Allen and Todd Wilson for overseeing the construction process. Other collaborators acknowledged were DES Engineering, City Engineer Troy Swan, the Lochmueller Group and Jake’s Aerial Photography.
His final thanks went to Brandy Allen, Director of Operations and Community Development in Crawfordsville.
“She dogged this project from day one to make sure everything happened,” Barton said. “She was in the weeds making sure everything got covered, so thank you for making this really happen.”
