Blue Line crews uncover tracks from city’s electric railway

INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Construction of IndyGo’s Blue Line continues on the west side, with miles of barrels lining West Washington Street from Rockville Road to the Indianapolis Zoo.

Crews are installing storm sewer trunk lines and other infrastructure needed to support the 24-mile rapid transit line that will stretch from the Indianapolis International Airport to Cumberland.

While driving past one of the construction sites, a Mirror Indy reader saw what looked like train tracks being placed in containers and asked us to find out more about it.

We asked IndyGo and learned that while digging up the existing street, workers uncovered links to the city’s transportation past — tracks from the streetcar system the city used from the 1860s until the 1950s.

The tracks guided streetcars first pulled by mules and, later, electric streetcars and buses throughout the city. The tracks were later paved over.

A bent track from the city’s old electric streetcar system pulled from under West Washington Street as part of construction of IndyGo’...