The Pufferbelly Trail between Washington Center Road and Ice Way (“Golden Spike”) is now under construction and will be completed in the fall of 2025. The pedestrian bridge over Coliseum Boulevard (“Vann Family Crossing”) is tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2026 or 2027, depending on fundraising, permits and approvals by the Indiana Department of Transportation. Jim Vann and the Vann Family Foundation generously gifted the City of Fort Wayne with $5,000,000 for the pedestrian bridge.

The project is in part possible with a generous $5 million gift from the Vann Family Foundation to the City of Fort Wayne to construct the pedestrian bridge. The bridge will cross Coliseum Boulevard between Mission BBQ and the west side of Bob Thomas Ford. Engineering for the bridge is currently underway. The City and Fort Wayne Trails are applying for a federal Reconnecting Communities Pilot Grant (due September 30, 2024), in addition to READI 2.0 funds for the remaining construction costs. If funding is secured, the bridge will be bid in late 2025, with construction anticipated in 2026.

The City and Fort Wayne Trails held a public information meeting for the bridge and the trail project on August 7^th at 6:30 p.m. at the Roller Dome North. The 1.7 mile trail construction between Ice Way and Washington Center Road began August 5^th and will be completed by October of 2025. The trail will include a connection to Glenbrook Square Mall.

As of June 2024, the Fort Wayne Area Trails Network consists of 143 miles of trails, with 102 miles inside City limits. Most of the trails in City limits are planned, designed, constructed, and maintained by the City of Fort Wayne under the leadership of Mayor Sharon Tucker