The City of Elkhart on Monday celebrated the completion of a major reconstruction project at the Benham Avenue underpass, a months-long effort officials say will improve traffic flow, reduce flooding and support downtown revitalization.
City Engineer Jeffrey Schaffer said the project rebuilt Benham Avenue beneath the Norfolk Southern railroad overpass and changed how traffic moves into the heart of the city.
“This was a project that reconstructed Benham Avenue under the Norfolk Southern Railroad Overpass. And as part of that project, we redirected Benham Avenue from a split between 2nd and 3rd Street so that it entirely goes to 3rd Street. So that's a big traffic change. It's great for downtown, great for the Benham Avenue neighborhood,” Schaffer said.
Officials also highlighted a sizable stormwater component to the work. Schaffer described the long-running drainage problems near the Tolson Center and explained how the new system should help.
“The area around Tolson Center was a marshy area back in the 1800s… This project has a large lift station with three pumps. They pump through a 16 inch pipe up to a new 72 inch storm sewer, so a 72 inch gravity sewer that then leads all the way to the St. Joe's River,” he said.
The underpass has been closed to traffic since March while crews completed the work. “It has been closed since March of this year. But we were very fortunate. Our contractor HRP, our inspection team, our in-house inspection team worked really hard to make this a one-year project so that the traffic conditions would only last during 2025 and wouldn't go into a second year. So we're really proud of that,” Schaffer said.
In addition to traffic and drainage upgrades, the project includes street redesigns intended to make the area more walkable and better connected to downtown.
“Seeing the new pedestrian path where Second Street used to be, that's a walkable connection from Tolson Center to downtown. For me personally, I'm really excited,” Schaffer said.
City officials say the work, roughly a $15 million project, part of a broader $22 million set of related improvements, replaced water mains, sanitary and storm sewers and rebuilt several local streets. They described the project as a piece of the city’s downtown master plan and the Venom neighborhood initiative, aimed at regenerating and reconnecting neighborhoods with downtown businesses and services.
