Construction crews from Milestone Contractors have continued to make progress on the railroad overpass and interchange project on Columbus’ west side to allow motorists to avoid being stopped by railroad traffic at the intersection of State Road 46 and State Road 11.
With the approaches to the new bridge over State Road 11 being paved last month and the grass planted on embankments earlier this year starting to poke through the soil, the project is starting to come together, said project manager Nathan Gaskill.
The estimated $35 million project is being jointly funded by the Indiana Department of Transportation, city of Columbus, Bartholomew County, Cummins Inc. and the Louisville & Indiana and CSX railroads.
“Everybody is kind of getting a feel for what it’s going to look like,” Gaskill said.
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Over the past couple weeks, workers have poured the new bridge deck on the eastbound side of the new bridge over train tracks along State Road 11 and are preparing to place barrier walls on the bridge, which are designed to help prevent motorists from driving off the edge, Gaskill said.
However, Milestone is focusing much of its efforts on completing work on a quarter-mile stretch of State Road 11 between State Road 46 and Garden City, which has been closed since June 1 so workers could tear out and replace the existing pavement on State Road 11 and add new drainage structures, including some storm sewer upgrades.
So far, the construction work on State Road 11 has progressed on schedule, Gaskill said. The existing surface of State Road 11 has been removed and workers have completed the storm sewer work and started paving State Road 11 earlier this week.
“All of our focus is basically is to get it paved back and striped and opened back up to the public,” Gaskill said.
The road is expected to be reopened to the public by July 1, according to a letter of understanding between the city of Columbus and INDOT.
After the work on State Road 11 is completed, workers will prepare to pour the bridge deck on the westbound side of the bridge, which is anticipated to happen during the first half of July, Gaskill said.
Additionally, construction crews are also working on other preparations prior to switching eastbound traffic to the new traffic alignment on State Road 46, said Natalie Garrett, INDOT spokeswoman.
Currently, the project is in the second of three phases, which is expected to be completed by late fall of this year.
The first part of the second phase includes the work currently being done on State Road 11, Garrett said.
During the second part of the phase, which is expected to start in early fall, eastbound State Road 46 will be reduced to one lane for around 50 days to “allow construction of various tie-in points between the existing roadway and new roadway,” Garrett said.
During the third phase of the project, which is projected to start in late fall, westbound State Road 46 will be reduced to one lane for about two months, according to INDOT.
The new alignment of State Road 46 is expected to be open to traffic by the end of the year, with some additional work, including seeding and sodding through spring and early summer 2021, Garrett said.
The contract completion date is June 2021.
The overpass project was developed in response to a projected increase in railroad traffic on the Louisville & Indiana Railroad tracks. INDOT has agreed to pick up half of the total cost, while the city, along with other partners, pick up the half of the tab.
The railroad has leased its tracks running through Columbus to CSX, which is expected to result in an increase in train traffic, train speed and delays at intersections involving rail crossings through the city, with the State Road 46/State Road 11 intersection expected to have the most delayed local traffic.
The city has partnered with Cummins, Bartholomew County and the Louisville & Indiana and CSX Railroads to defray around half of the local funding requirements in the interlocal agreement, city officials said.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held in November.
Approximately 31,200 tons of new asphalt and 4,600 tons of recycled asphalt will be used for the project, and about 460,000 cubic yards of dirt will be poured at the site — equaling around 50,000 truckloads, said Mark Thompson, vice president of Milestone Contractors, in a previous interview.
Currently, 40,000 motorists cross the railroad tracks at this intersection daily. To put it in perspective, an estimated 45,000 people live in Columbus, and 80,000 individuals live in Bartholomew County.
Gaskill urged motorists to drive carefully while traveling through the construction zone.
“Traffic patterns are going to be changing, so (motorists should) just be aware of changes that are forthcoming,” he said.
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Visit columbusrailroadproject.org for more information about the project.
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