The Monon Trail is expanding further into Hamilton County with $2.6M development

Walkers, get excited — nearly two more miles of the Monon Trail are officially on the way. Once completed, the trail will reach the border of Hamilton and Boone counties.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the town of Sheridan broke ground on phase 1 of a two-part Monon Trail extension on Friday in Sheridan. The extension is funded in large part by a $2 million Next Level Trails grant, given out by the DNR to develop significant trails throughout the state. The project's total estimated cost is $2.6 million with Sheridan funding the rest.

“The Monon’s excellent connectivity set an early example of ways we’d bring communities together through Next Level Trails, including with the construction of the Monon South Trail in southern Indiana,” DNR Director Dan Bortner said in a press release.

Phase one of the project will extend three quarters of a mile to State Road 47, following the historic Monon Railroad route into the center of Sheridan. Phase two of the project will extend the trail to the Hamilton/Boone county line, and construction is estimated to begin in 2025.

More news on the Monon:Work begins on $11M pedestrian bridge project linking Monon, Nickel Plate trails

With the new addition, the Monon trail will be roughly 28 miles-long, spanning from 10th Street in downtown Indianapolis to the edge of Hamilton County. The Monon Trail currently extends over 26 miles in total.

In January 2023, Gov. Holcomb announced that nearly $30 million would go towards a Monon South trail, which would stretch 62.3 miles from New Albany to just past Mitchell. The trail won't connect to the portion that snakes through Hamilton and Marion counties.

Next Level Trails has awarded over $180 million towards Indiana trails.

Contact IndyStar politics Pulliam fellow Nadia Scharf at nscharf@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @nadiaascharf.