New traffic signals at Fourth Street and Spring Street were installed and working by mid-October. They are part of the Monon South Freedom Trail, and they went into service while construction crews were still working the blocks around them.
The city started this downtown phase in August 2025. Crews mobilized on August 1 and the groundbreaking followed on August 14. More than a year later, the city's weekly construction log on the Monon South Freedom Trail project page shows a trail coming together in pieces: a paved stretch here, a working signal there, signage on Main Street. On Fourth Street the work moves one intersection at a time.
Where the 1.63 Miles Run
At a city council presentation, New Albany Economic Development Director Claire Johnson described the southern segment to the News and Tribune as a 1.63-mile link between the riverfront and the neighborhoods to the north. Going north from the river, it runs like this:
- It starts at the Ohio River Greenway at 10th Street, behind the Culbertson Mansion at 914 E. Main Street. The city broke ground here.
- It follows the old railroad easement west to Bank Street.
- It turns north onto Fourth Street and crosses Main, Market, Spring, Elm and Oak.
- It passes Fairview Cemetery and ends at Eighth Street.
The design adds a new crossing at 10th Street styled to match the surrounding streets, along with lighting and landscaping. Johnson described the goal as "a safe, attractive corridor for everyday use."
What Is Already Built
The southern end received its final paving first. On September 15, the city reported the surface layer of asphalt paved from Bank Street to 10th Street, with precast curb dividers installed at the south end of Fourth Street. Fence panels now run between 3rd and 6th Streets and along the south side of the trail between 9th and 10th. Guardrails went in near 5th and 9th Streets. Lights were installed over the lettering on the retaining wall in August.
Fourth Street is a different kind of job. The trail shares a working street there, so crews have been pulling up sidewalks and curb ramps and rebuilding them a section at a time. The city's progress estimates track that slower phase:
| City log date | Estimated complete | Work recorded that week |
|---|---|---|
| August 4, 2026 | 66% | Fence posts near the cemetery at the north end and near the Culbertson Mansion at the south end |
| September 15, 2026 | 74% | Final asphalt from Bank Street to 10th Street |
| October 21, 2026 | 80% | Streetlight conduit finished on Fourth Street, new light poles and HAWK signals going in at Fourth and Main |
Those dates show about eight points of progress in six weeks over the summer and six points in the five weeks after that. That pace fits work that moves intersection by intersection rather than in long paved runs. By the October 13 update, striping was done on Pearl Street, 6th Street and Fourth Street, and signage and totems were up on Main Street, on Market Street and between 4th and 10th Streets.
The November 3 update, the most recent before this post, located the work block by block:
- A new storm structure at Fourth and Elm, piped into an existing one
- Concrete poured for curbs, a paver base and landscaping areas between Oak and Elm
- Benches placed and secured near Main Street
- Work started on a decorative crosswalk across Spring Street
The October 27 log added sidewalk and curb ramp excavation at the northwest and southeast corners of Fourth and Culbertson Avenue, plus trees planted in the new landscaping beds along Fourth. Earlier in the summer, crews poured both approaches to the fire station along the route. On foot, you can see this as the difference between the blocks with new pavers and the blocks still behind barricades. The city's request is direct: "Please do not walk on through designated construction areas."
Why the Name Starts Downtown
The whole Monon South Trail follows a CSX rail line abandoned in 2017. New Albany is building the part inside Floyd County, and Radius Indiana manages the trail from the county line north. The city gave its section a separate name for a historical reason. Johnson explained it to the News and Tribune:
"This corridor was once part of the Underground Railroad, serving as a verified escape route for enslaved African Americans seeking freedom. This history is why we call our local section the Monon South Freedom Trail."
The city's project page adds that the former New Albany–Salem railroad served freedom seekers in two ways. Some rode in the train cars, and others followed the tracks on foot. The downtown phase begins where that history begins, at the river, and runs north the way the rail line did. When the trail is connected, the city expects it to tie into the Ohio River Greenway, which continues through Clarksville and Jeffersonville to the Big Four Bridge.
Dinner at the Market Street End
Market Street is one of the streets the trail touches, and the city installed trail signage and totems there in October. A block from Fourth Street, The Fair sits at 141 E. Market Street in the space that used to be Toast on Market. It is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. Viva Hospitality Group runs the restaurant. Co-owner and executive chef Roza Segoviano told the News and Tribune that it would be a dinner-only New American restaurant cooking with ingredients from local growers and producers.
At the other end of the southern segment, the Culbertson Mansion stands at 914 E. Main Street. The trail's first construction began on 10th Street directly behind it.
Eighth Street Is Where the Downtown Segment Stops
When the southern segment is finished, it will carry you from the riverfront to Eighth Street. From there, the city's plans move north in two more pieces.
The middle segment covers about 3.65 miles from Eighth Street to Mount Tabor Road. Johnson called it the section that "ties the entire trail together." It still needs design work. The New Albany Redevelopment Commission voted to acquire the former New Albany Golf Course, and the city is evaluating that land as a route for the middle segment.
The northern segment runs about five miles from Mount Tabor Road to the Floyd–Clark County line, parallel to Grant Line Road. It is further along on paper. The city has issued an invitation to bid on it, and the redevelopment commission tentatively awarded a $5.5 million contract for the trail, as the News and Tribune reported. Johnson said the route will pass the new animal shelter on Barack Obama Way, where the city expects a trailhead with shared parking. She described the section as a key connector for IU Southeast and said it will end at a gateway feature marking the entry into New Albany and Floyd County.
Past the county line, Radius Indiana's Monon South Trail has 20 miles open. Its crushed-stone sections between New Pekin and Deam Lake Road will stay closed for the rest of 2026 after storm washouts, while the paved portions in that section remain open. In downtown New Albany, the Freedom Trail for now is the Fourth Street corridor between the river and Eighth Street, where the city's Nov. 3 log still listed active work.
At Paul Kiger Group, we watch projects like the Freedom Trail because they change how the blocks around them work every day. If your home is near Fourth Street, the riverfront or the planned northern route and you'd like to know where it stands today, get your free home valuation and we'll go through it with you.
