The City of Shelbyville initiated a redesign process for the North Riley Road Corridor that involved a series of alternative cross sections for converting the existing 4-lane with center two way left turn lane into a 2 or 4-lane roadway with a center median. The process involved a City Advisory Team that provided feedback every step of the way from preliminary design concepts of corridor alignments and potential streetscape enhancement through the beginning stages of schematic design. This collaboration informed a series of corridor alignment refinements as well as a series of optional streetscape enhancement treatment. Being the primary northern entry into the City of Shelbyville, design pushed for Riley Road to act as a linear gateway into the heart of downtown Shelbyville. This linear gateway included elements not previously part of the corridor including the following: 1) Pedestrian/cyclist crossings, sidewalks, multi-use trails, and associated amenities; 2) Strategically placed decorative pavement to draw attention and provide continuity; 3) Landscape in the form of planted medians, vegetated swales, and tree lawns; 4) Wayfinding signage and gateway structures denoting major and minor points of interest; 5) Corridor lighting along the entire length of the project site; and 6) Off-corridor planting enhancements to play up adjacent water bodies and wooded edges.

Five potential corridor re-design options were presented to the Advisory Team and a final cross section was chosen that includes a 4-lane roadway with a planted median. The final design interjects urban elements, speaking to components of the newly redesigned downtown plaza, along the rural stretch of roadway. The combination of the urban elements with the rural character creates a unique linear gateway from I-74 into the City says “Welcome to Shelbyville!”