Indiana University South Bend Multi-Use Trail

Following their award of Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding, Indiana University retained DLZ to provide professional consulting services for design of the IUSB Multi-Use Trail. Planning and design of the project followed INDOT and Federal Highway Association standards for plan development, design, and implementation.

DLZ Professional Services included landscape architecture, civil and electrical engineering, building demolition specifications, topographic survey, geotechnical investigation, and IDNR / USACOE permitting. The project consisted of an approximate 0.50-mile multi-use trail located on the IUSB campus, immediately south of the St. Joseph River and adjacent to their newly developed student housing. The trail extended along the south bank of the river and connected to major roadways on the east and south and at an intermediate point, the south terminus of the new IUSB pedestrian bridge. This connection allowed future linkage to other community trail systems along the north bank of the river. In addition to the 12’ concrete trail, improvements included masonry and limestone-accented plaza, river overlook, and trailhead and secondary pedestrian paths linking the trail with student housing units, trail lighting, segmental retaining wall, landscape plantings, and site furnishings such as benches, waste and recycling receptacles, kiosks, signage, and bicycle racks.