Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Indianapolis, Indiana

The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo) selected CDM Smith to complete environmental documentation, design and construction support services for the 35-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Indianapolis. In its full build-out, the route will extend from Westfield in the north, run through Carmel and Indianapolis, and end in Greenwood to the south. As the first of several major rapid transit lines IndyGo has planned, the Red Line is the first line delivered under IndyGo’s transit plan.

Phase 1 of the project, completed in September 2019, extends from 66th Street in Broad Ripple in the north to the University of Indianapolis in the south. The system is a product of IndyGo and the city seeking to improve transit service on a critical 13.1-mile north-south corridor that serves 50,000 residents and 150,000 jobs and connects residents to key employment hubs, educational institutions and shopping centers. Transit riders who live and work along one of the city’s densest corridors can look forward to shorter wait times at the bus stop and more reliable trips between work and home thanks to the new system.

The Red Line features an alignment that includes mixed flow travel lanes and dedicated bus lanes, including business access and transit-only (BAT) lanes, as well as a bi-directional bus lane on College Avenue near Broad Ripple, one of the longest bi-directional bus lane segments in the country. In this corridor segment, buses will share a single lane. Traffic signal prioritization technology will detect lane availability, signaling to the buses when it is safe to proceed and stopping them at holding points when the lane is in use.
Building on Indianapolis’ leadership in electric vehicle and green technology initiatives, the project is one of the first all-electric BRT services in the nation. The Red Line represents a smart public transportation solution that will improve mobility standards for Indianapolis, providing efficient service to more than 50,000 residents within walking distance of the BRT’s 28 stations and stimulating transit-oriented development on the corridor.

TRAFFIC
The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo) brought the benefits of improved transit to the residents of central Indiana. The operation plans optimize transit service efficiency by introducing the Country's first fully electric Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) that will provide frequent, fast, and reliable service and redesign existing service, and leveraging transit signal priority (TSP) and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) infrastructure. Phase 1 of the project is a 13.6-mile segment connecting the University of Indianapolis to Broad Ripple through the Downtown Transit Center. American Structurepoint as the design partner for CDMSmith is providing many key components for the delivery of the project, including land acquisition and right-of-way management.
American Structurepoint's traffic engineering services included traffic capacity analysis, simulation modeling, and design of construction and bid plans for 50+ traffic signal modifications along the BRT corridor.