Bartholomew County is beginning work to replace a frequently traveled Lowell Road bridge.
Using federal funding for part of the project, the Bartholomew County commissioners have agreed to pick up 20 percent of the cost of replacing the nearly 60-year-old Lowell Bridge, northwest of Columbus.
Construction on the estimated $2.5 million project near Lowell Road and County Road 325W will not begin until 2024, said Danny Hollander, Bartholomew County Highway engineer.
That should be after the completion of a $30 million overpass over the State Road 46/State Road 11 train crossing leading into downtown Columbus from the west side of the city, Hollander said.
Construction on the overpass could begin in late 2019, and is planned as a response to an increase in longer, faster and heavier CSX trains traveling on the Louisville & Indiana tracks through Columbus.
County Road 325W and Lowell Road have already received some improvements as the two roads now serve as a bypass from Columbus’ west side to North National Road in Columbus. Lowell Road has an overpass over Interstate 65, leading to U.S. 31, where an overpass goes over the train tracks for traffic entering and leaving the city.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
