As Indiana approaches starts the sixth day of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s stay-at-home order—issued to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus—Bloomington’s road construction projects continue.
And public buses are continuing to run, but still on a spring break schedule.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indiana has not quite doubled in three days, from 981 on March 27, to 1,786 on March 30. The number of tests that have been done has increased over those days, from 6,936 on March 27 to 11,658 on March 30.
The number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Indiana doubled in four days, from 17 on March 26 to 35 on March 30.
A press release issued last Friday announcing the continuation of the spring break bus schedule, for the next week, from March 29 through April 4. According to the press release the schedule could change, depending on driver availability and ridership levels.
According to the press release, ridership for the past week—the week when university and public school classes would have resumed, but for the COVID-19 pandemic—has been down about 90 percent compared to the same period last year. The downtown transit center is closed to the public and fares have been eliminated for now, as a way to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic virus.
A Route 3 Bloomington Transit bus was plying its usual course when The Square Beacon checked in on the sidewalk construction project at Adams and Kirkwood on Monday morning. A sidewalk is getting installed on the east side of Adams, from Patterson Drive to Kirkwood Avenue.
The project continues despite the governor’s stay-at-home order, because “public projects enhancing safety and transportation are among the essential activities permitted to proceed,” according to a city press release issued Monday.
The $1.3-million Adams Street project was already underway when the stay-at-home-order was issued. But the city is taking advantage of reduced traffic to start some other projects earlier, according to the press release.
Among them is a project to repair crosswalks and install bollards on Kirkwood Avenue, which will start this week, around April 1, which is six weeks ahead of schedule, according to the press release.