The Ohio Street CSO Abatement Pilot Project was a partnership effort to improve the 600-700 block of East Ohio Street. The blocks are a gateway into the downtown area from Interstate 65. Implementing Green Infrastructure (GI) not only improves the stormwater management issue, it also beautifies a significant transportation corridor into the City. The project improved drainage, handicap accessibility, and deteriorating urban infrastructure to capitalize on recent private investment in the area as a means to continue strengthening the Cole-Noble neighborhood pedestrian environment.
The project incorporated 2,650 square feet of pervious concrete sidewalk, 900 linear feet of pervious concrete curb and gutter and approximately 750 square feet of rain garden into a larger Rebuild Indy initiative. These GI retrofits manage runoff from approximately 60,000 square feet of impervious surface and will remove over 1,350,000 gallons of stormwater from the CSO in an area that did not have any existing stormwater infrastructure in place, in a typical year, while creating a safer corridor for pedestrians walking along and across Ohio Street.
The project included a $5,000 grant from United Water to Indianapolis Downtown Inc. for the construction of the rain garden. The remainder of the project was funded through countywide stormwater budget. 100% of the project was completed by local designers and contractors. Williams Creek Consulting provided sustainable site engineering and landscape architecture services for the design and implementation of the GI elements.
Pervious concrete curb and gutter were used along a gateway into the City of Indianapolis as a means to alleviate some of the stress on the city’s CSO system. As a Pilot Project for the City of Indianapolis, and associated with the Rebuild Indy initiative, it showcases the fact that these new techniques in Green Infrastructure create viable, problem-solving solutions for municipalities that are facing CSO overflow issues. This particular project, because of it’s location along a gateway into the downtown area, sees high levels of traffic, and exposure of the concrete product, performance, and effectiveness to residents of the city and visitors alike.