MUNCIE — A "Complete Street" project that started two mayors ago to strengthen ties among Ball State University, downtown and the city's trail system finally has been completed.

Neely Avenue between the university and the Minnetrista campus/Delaware County Fairgrounds/Wheeling Avenue has been reconstructed with full-depth pavement replacement, designated bike lanes, a landscaped median and new sidewalks, curbs, gutters and storm drains at a cost of $1.5 million.

The original plan was to just improve the street.

"Then as we got into the design, we told them to add sidewalks, bike lanes and a median so it was a Complete Street," Marta Moody, director of the city-county plan commission, told The Star Press recently. "The importance became even greater as a means to provide connection for our bike-ped system for the overall city — and of particular note a connection between campus and our premier greenways system.

"This project is another important connection that is part of the overall bike-ped network," she added. "We are building connections all over the place."

A Complete Street creates safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities, according to the nonprofit Smart Growth America. The advocacy organization says Complete Streets make it easy to cross the street, walk to shops/bus stops/train stops and bicycle to work.

Upcoming projects to make Muncie streets more complete are scheduled in northwest Muncie along Morrison Road, Clara Lane, Bethel Avenue and Lyndenbrook Place, and on East Jackson Street where a historic bridge will be re-assembled over the White River to connect the Cardinal Greenway and the White River Greenway.

Last year, Martin Street between campus and White River Boulevard/White River Greenway was rebuilt with full-depth pavement replacement, decorative street lamps with brackets for banners, a wide sidewalk on one side of the street and landscaping

The Neely Avenue project was started during the administration of Dan Canan, who secured a Congressional earmark to fund it. It connects BSU and Minnetrista, from which bicyclists and pedestrians can take the White River Greenway to either the Cardinal Greenway or downtown.

The reconstruction of 2,000 feet of Neely provides six-foot-wide sidewalks, five-foot-wide bike lanes, a nine-food-wide landscaped median and 11-foot-wide travel lanes for motor vehicles. On-street parking was eliminated. The streetscape resembles Neely's reconstruction through campus in 2010 at a cost of $2.5 million.

Jerry Lehman, who has lived along Neely since the 1960s, is glad that the dusty construction work is over.

"It's going to be beautiful," said his wife, Connie. "I love the way it looks. I like the wide sidewalks."

Former single-family houses in the neighborhood have been turned into mini-apartments for college students, Jerry Lehman said. The backyards of the neighborhood have been converted into dirt/gravel parking lots that also create a lot of dust, he said.

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.