Columbus will have a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new railroad overpass on the city’s west side at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
City engineer Dave Hayward said the ceremony will be held in the parking lot of Columbus Veterinary Services at 240 Jonesville Road, Columbus.
The $35 million overpass project is “basically complete,” Hayward said, with contractors finishing a few minor details, including some landscaping.
Hayward said previously that the city would go out for landscaping bids in January and that the work could be finished early spring or summer or possibly late next year.
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Milestone Contractors was the Indiana Department of Transportation contractor on the project, which began with a groundbreaking ceremony last November.
The overpass project that is being jointly funded by the Indiana Department of Transportation, city of Columbus, Bartholomew County, Cummins Inc. and the Louisville & Indiana and CSX railroads.
The overpass project was developed in response to a projected increase in railroad traffic on the Louisville & Indiana Railroad tracks. INDOT agreed to pick up half of the total cost, while the city, along with other partners, picked up the half of the tab.
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.
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.
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.
