A bridge on the Ohio-Wayne township line closed just before the start of the Memorial Day weekend will remain off-limits for at least three more weeks.
County highway officials shut down the bridge on County Road 400W, just east of Ogilville, on May 27. It’s one of four bridges positioned close together in the same wetlands where branches of the East Fork White River come together.
Known legally as Bridge 188, the 50-year-old structure is scheduled to be replaced next year, county highway engineer Danny Hollander said. A new structure is in the design phase at Strand Associates, Inc., a local engineering and consulting firm.
While most bridges are inspected every other year, Bridge 188 has been examined annually to ensure structural integrity, Hollander said.
But late last month, an inspector called county highway officials to say “he found something he didn’t like at all,” the highway engineer said.
The inspector was referring to a beam under the deck running the length of the bridge that rests on metal poles driven into the ground or water known as pilings. The metal involved in the support structure was losing strength, making it deformed and obsolete, Hollander said. The deterioration was so extensive that the bridge was closed immediately, he said.
When representatives of Milestone Contractors Inc. came out the next morning, discussions were held about how to make a temporary fix so the bridge could carry traffic until the new bridge is built next year, Hollander said.
However, it’s estimated three weeks will be needed before a qualified bridge crew can be pulled off other projects to make the emergency repairs, he said.
“Like everyone, Milestone is short on staff,” Hollander explained. “They also want to make sure they have an experienced bridge crew working on this.”
In addition, the same amount of time is required to obtain new materials necessary for the repairs, he said.
Once the crew and materials are ready to go, it should only take a few days of work to reopen the bridge — just as long as there are no unexpected problems, Hollander said. Environmental concerns in the wetlands where the bridge is located have already forced the county to obtain additional permits, he said.
With the exception of State Road 58, County Road 400W is considered one of the busiest north-south roads west of Interstate 65 in southern Bartholomew County, Hollander said. As it extends south to become Jackson County Road 300E, it picks up significant traffic from different areas that stretch all the way to the vicinity around Courtland, he explained.
Hollander says there is a quick and easy detour that utilizes county roads 300W and 600S from State Road 58 for those who use the bridge as part of their daily travels.
Overlay bids
In other matters regarding county roads, four companies have submitted bids to put a new layer of asphalt on almost 23 miles of rural roads before winter weather arrives. With a bid of $1,725,580, Milestone provided what appears to be the lowest proposal for the first phase of the 2021 Bartholomew County Overlay program.
Other contractors who made proposals, as well as the amounts of their bids, were:
DC Construction Services, Inc. of Noblesville: $2,512,927
All Star Paving, Inc. of Seymour: $2,230,906
Dave O’Mara Contractors Inc. of North Vernon: $1,906,964
County highway officials say they want to closely examine all four bids before making their recommendation to the Bartholomew County Commissioners. That means the contract won’t be awarded until June 14 at the earliest.
The county used to hire multiple contractors for the annual overlay project, based on which company had the lowest bid to repave each section of road.
However, the county has been awarded a Community Crossings matching grant of $990,928 to fund half of this phase of the overlay program. However, state regulations for grant recipients only allow one contractor to do all the work. In addition, Bartholomew County government must match the grant on a 50-50 basis.
