INDIANAPOLIS, IN — As a result of a study conducted last year, the U.S. Postal Service has made the decision to close the West Indianapolis Finance Unit Post Office, located at 1144 S. Belmont Avenue in Indianapolis, at the end of business on Friday, February 25, 2011.

“Given the extraordinary decline in mail volume – a decline of nearly 26 billion pieces this past year alone – we must take action to reduce the size of our retail and delivery network,” said Lynn Smith, District Manager of the Postal Service’s Indianapolis-based Greater Indiana District. “By consolidating, streamlining and adjusting our operations, the Postal Service becomes a more efficient and effective operation.”

Affected postal employees will be reassigned in accordance with applicable collective bargaining agreements.

The West Indianapolis Post Office Box Section will be relocated to the Park Fletcher Branch at 2760 Fortune Circle East and all affected Post Office Box customers will continue to use their current address and ZIP Code.

Park Fletcher’s retail hours are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Post Office Box Section lobby is open 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

This announcement updates a review process that examined approximately 3,300 stations and branches in urban and suburban areas across the country, focusing on those facilities in relative close proximity to one another to determine where consolidations might be feasible, while maintaining customer access to postal services.

Customers can skip the trip to the Post Office and purchase stamps and shipping labels online using the Postal Services website, usps.com. Customers can also request free package pickup at usps.com. The Postal Service will pick up packages during regular mail delivery the next business day, and, unlike other shipping companies, there is no fee for this service. Postal stamps can also be purchased at 1-800-STAMP24, thousands of banking ATMs and in more than 55,000 retail outlets across the nation.

“Local mail delivery will not be affected by this move. Full retail services will still be available, and our customers will continue to receive the same excellent service they always have,” said Smith.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.