Troyer Group Returns to Lead Indiana Avenue Reconstruction in Goshen
Some of the most meaningful work we do isn’t the project that moves fastest. It’s the project a community doesn’t give up on, and the client who comes back to the same partner years later to finish what was started. That’s the story behind Indiana Avenue in Goshen, Indiana.
The Goshen Redevelopment Commission recently voted to restart the reconstruction of Indiana Avenue between Pike Street and Chicago Avenue on the city’s west side, a project the city first entrusted to Troyer Group in November 2021.
“We’re honored the city is turning back to us to carry it forward, and we take that trust seriously.” – Jonathon Geels, Troyer Group President
Picking Up Where a Pause Left Off
By the time the project paused, construction costs had increased significantly, pushing it out of the realm of possibility. The pause wasn’t a reflection on the project’s importance. As Redevelopment Director Becky Hutsell explained to the commission, limits on available Community Crossings Matching Grant funding also made it necessary to hit stop, even with the finish line in sight.
That kind of pause creates real work on the back end, and we don’t take it lightly. Roadway standards and construction details have been updated since 2021, so a meaningful part of restarting this project means revisiting plans we already considered finished and bringing them current. Utility coordination has to be renewed. Environmental documentation needs updating. None of that is glamorous, but all of it is the quiet, careful work that keeps a public infrastructure project honest and buildable, and it’s exactly what a city should expect from an engineering partner it’s trusting with a second chapter of the same project.
Why This Road Matters to the People Who Live On It
Indiana Avenue still carries sections of aging concrete pavement that are becoming more expensive to patch every year, and elevation changes along the corridor create real drainage challenges that only get worse the longer they go unaddressed. Full reconstruction, not another round of patchwork repairs, is what this street needs.
But the strongest case for restarting this project didn’t come from an engineer. It came from Goshen City Councilman Doug Nisley, who spoke on behalf of the residents in his district and shared the story of a woman who uses a wheelchair and struggles to cross Indiana Avenue safely, an experience that once tipped her chair over. “She said, ‘I can’t cross the road to get to anywhere,'” Nisley told the commission. “So I just wanted to let you know that the residents up there really, really want this done.”
That’s the responsibility we carry into this project. A reconstructed roadway is a technical achievement, but on Indiana Avenue it’s also the difference between a resident who can safely reach the other side of her own street and one who can’t. We design roads knowing that somebody’s daily life, not just their commute, depends on getting it right.
Looking Ahead
The city is targeting completion in 2027, and using tax increment financing that the Redevelopment Commission oversees to fund the work, which frees up other city dollars for additional projects across Goshen. Our team is already moving forward on updating the design, renewing utility coordination, and preparing the project for bidding.
We’re grateful the City of Goshen chose to bring Troyer Group back for this next chapter of Indiana Avenue. Multi-year public infrastructure projects test a lot of things, budgets, patience, and plans alike, but they also test whether a client can trust their engineering partner to still be there, and still be accountable, when the work resumes. We intend to earn that trust every step of the way to construction.
Have a municipal infrastructure project that needs an engineering partner who sees it through? Contact Troyer Group to talk about your community’s next project.