The name, the deck and the opening window
The Indianapolis Board of Public Works approved the name Greenlawn Memorial Bridge on 22 July 2026. The project had carried the working name Henry Street Bridge. The Indianapolis Star reports construction expected to finish in early 2027, about a year later than the March 2026 opening date given when the $21.2 million project was announced three years ago.
The rings around the bridge are visible. The west-side street work is substantially complete. The deck sits between Washington Street and Oliver Street.
What the deck carries
The deck holds two vehicular travel lanes, one in each direction. A multi-use path for the Indianapolis Cultural Trail runs alongside them. The city states the purpose on the project page: added vehicular and pedestrian connectivity between the west side and downtown, and relief on Oliver Avenue and Washington Street as the White River Innovation District builds out.
The city's west-side scope covers the reconstructed D Loop from Washington Street to South White River Parkway, the relocation of South White River Parkway to meet the D Loop and Oliver Street at Drover Street, Innovator Way from Harding Street to the relocated parkway, and Holly Avenue connecting Oliver Street to Innovator Way.
The east-bank record
The bridge sits inside the city's first public cemeteries. The original burying ground opened in 1821, the Union or New Burying Ground followed in the 1830s, the North or Peck's Burying Ground in the 1850s, and Greenlawn Cemetery in the 1860s. The ground grew past 25 acres at its fullest extent, and the city banned burials there in 1890.
The project impacts 1.359 acres of permanent right of way and 0.601 acres of temporary right of way. The city hired an archaeology firm, and the excavation recovered more than 1,700 grave shafts inside the right of way along with 19th-century artifacts. The year-long dig wrapped in October 2025. Indiana University Indianapolis runs the analysis, and the city is still drafting the reinterment plan.
A community advisory group chose the name. Leon Bates, a group member, said in a statement that the group remains determined to uncover the stories of Indianapolis' least prominent early citizens.
The blocks either side of the river
The west bank holds the demand. Elanco opened a headquarters of more than $200 million on the former GM Stamping Plant site in October 2025, and the company bases more than 725 employees in the greater Indianapolis area. The OneHealth Innovation District adds a research campus developed with Purdue University.
Visit Indy's connected package and its development list carry no west-bank hotel. Downtown carries the inventory: 12 connected hotels and 5,200 rooms, and more than 10,000 rooms within walking distance of the convention center.
Two corridor projects are off. The state ended the $65 million, 15-acre White River State Park expansion on 11 March 2026 after the Legislature removed $15 million. The crane bay at the former stamping plant came down in early September 2025, and the park commission returned the $30 million Lilly Endowment grant.
What the corridor still owes an owner
The convention complex carries the load-in capacity the corridor lacks. The facility guide reports 49 docks and seven drive-in ramps at the Indiana Convention Center, and Lucas Oil Stadium holds an indoor 30,000-square-foot loading dock with eleven bays.
The city publishes monthly construction reports, public meeting documents and the archaeological record. It has published no opening day inside early 2027.
Ask Indy DPW for the completion date and for the trail connection points west of the river. Ask the district's employers about their meeting and event space. The published room count on that bank is zero.