COLUMBUS, Ind. — Taxpayers paid $195,000 in 1959 to replace a covered bridge and build the 433-feet long Lowell Bridge northwest of Columbus.
When that same bridge is replaced four to five years from now, the cost will be almost $8 million.
The Indiana Department of Transportation has announced that two separate federal transportation grants have been awarded for two projects involved with replacing the county’s second-longest bridge.
The new bridge, south of the existing one, is projected to cost $5,520,000, Bartholomew County Highway Engineer Danny Hollander said. The second grant of $2,397,600 will be used to realign the intersection of County Road 325W with Lowell Road on the south side of Driftwood River, he said.
Under this grant program, the federal government will pay 80% of the costs, while county government will pay the remaining 20%. While the county applied for a similar grant last year, the funds administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation were not awarded, he said.
Realigning the two roads on the south side of the bridge is necessary because up to 95% of the vehicles use both 325W and Lowell Road to travel between U.S. 31 and State Road 46 West, he said.
“We want to give them the priority so they don’t have to stop (at the new bridge),” Hollander said. “But it will be complicated with the river and the road, as well as a public access fishing site all right there. It will be a year-long project.”
While the start of construction is more than four years away, the awarding of the grants does allow Bartholomew County to begin designing and engineering the project, as well as purchase right-of-way.
For the complete story, see Thursday’s Republic.
