Medians to be built near new gas station

A busy Center Grove area intersection will be redesigned before a new gas station is built.

Kroger plans to build a gas station at the southwest corner of Fairview Road and State Road 135. The company is adding new medians to both Fairview Road and State Road 135 at the intersection.

The medians will prevent drivers from turning left across traffic to get into the gas station, Greenwood community services director Mark Richards said. The city asked for the medians in the hope of improving safety and traffic flow.

Greenwood has agreed to cover half of the $13,400 cost of building the median along Fairview Road, Richards said. The city will pay its share by having street department workers do the construction with city-owned equipment.

Kroger will pay the full cost of the median that will run along State Road 135, south of Fairview Road, Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Will Wingfield said. No cost estimate was available.

The supermarket chain will be responsible for hiring a contractor to do the work, he said.

That median will start at the south side of Fairview and continue about 200 feet south. The intent is to encourage drivers to turn at the light instead of turning left in front of traffic to get into the new gas station, Richards said.

“That turn would be dangerous,” Richards said.

The Cincinnati-based supermarket chain plans to build the gas station in a former bank building near its store on State Road 135. Kroger also recently added a drive-through pharmacy to that store location.

Construction is expected to start soon on both the gas station and the medians, Richards said. The street department started work on the Fairview Road median last month but has postponed the project because of rainy weather.

No lane restrictions are expected, but drivers should be cautious in the construction site, Richards said.