Commissioners approve murals on county-owned bridge underpasses for Cardinal Greenway project

The Delaware County Board of Commissioners voted April 7 to permit Cardinal Greenway and local artists to install murals on bridge underpasses and levee walls under the county’s oversight.

A representative of Cardinal Greenway described a plan to revive a mural program, citing prior local work by artists such as Aaron Roberts and Leon Crosby. The group requested permission to paint county-owned underpasses and levee walls. The presenters said artists would monitor and maintain murals, would remove or repaint them if stakeholders objected, and would repair or replace murals if vandalized.

Why it matters: Commissioners said murals could reduce illegal graffiti and improve the appearance of public infrastructure along the White River Greenway. The project is to be primarily artist-supported; the board discussed reimbursing artists for materials in some cases.

Vote: The motion to approve permission to paint county underpasses was adopted by roll call; all three commissioners voted yes.

Implementation notes: Presenters said they had permission from the sanitary district to work on levee walls and would seek permission, as needed, from rail companies (CSX and Norfolk Southern) to paint underpasses under their control. The artists agreed to use river-friendly paints and to avoid abrasive surface treatments.