College Avenue to close for 2 weeks starting late January 2026 for Bloomington Convention Center skybridge installation

At its regular meeting on Tuesday night, Bloomington’s board of public works approved a two‑week full closure of College Avenue south of 3rd Street, starting in late January.

The closure will allow construction of a skybridge for the Bloomington Convention Center expansion. The skybridge will connect the new building on the east side of College Avenue to the existing facility on the west side of the street.

The formal request for the closure came from Weddle Bros., the construction manager for the project. The closure will run from Jan. 26 through Feb. 12, 2026, blocking College Avenue between 3rd and 2nd streets. During that time, southbound traffic on College will be detoured west to Rogers Street, then back east via 2nd Street, engineering staffer Kyle Baugh told the board.

From Feb. 13 through June 26, College Avenue in that same section will reopen to just a single southbound lane, while work continues next to the roadway.

Public works director Adam Wason stressed the scale and rarity of the disruption: “This is a big, big coordination … It’s going to have major impacts to the area and the corridor,” Wason told the board, adding that staff have been working closely with Weddle Bros. on phasing, detours, and communication.

The city plans a “substantial communications plan” with the mayor’s office, Weddle Bros., and the Monroe County capital improvement board, which is overseeing the construction of the convention center expansion project. Portable message boards are scheduled to be in place by Jan. 5, 2026, Baugh told the board, to warn drivers of upcoming changes.

Pedestrians will also be rerouted. Baugh said the pedestrian detour will take people east on Walnut and south to 2nd, mirroring the vehicle detour back to College.

Board president Kyla Cox Deckard pressed staff on how nearby properties—including My Sister’s Closet—would be served while through‑traffic on College is cut off.

Wason said Smith Avenue and Walnut Street will remain open, allowing drivers to approach from Walnut, go west on Smith, then back south on College, which will still function as a local access street south of Smith. Wason acknowledged that some savvy motorists will likely “find their little nooks, crannies and ways” through parking lots, even if those aren’t part of the official detour.

Deckard urged drivers who use those unofficial routes to behave accordingly: “For those who are traveling on the unofficial detour, just respect that space,” she said. “If you’re traveling through a parking lot, acknowledge it as a parking lot and not as a road, a thoroughfare.”

Deckard described the closing of College Avenue as “historic.” She does not believe the board has ever authorized a complete closure of College. (Deckard has served for a decade on the board.)

Wason later added that residents should expect another two‑week full closure of College Avenue near the end of the convention center project, which is supposed to be complete in early 2027, for final work on the skybridge. Wason called this first closure “a trial run” for the convention center expansion, which he said will shape the city’s downtown for decades.

The three-member board approved the closure and associated noise permit unanimously.