Mike Wolanin | The Republic Motorists pass over the Lowell Road Bridge in Columbus, Ind., Friday, March 15, 2019.
A biennial inventory that rates the 202 bridges in Bartholomew County shows some bridges needing the most work will have to be postponed until federal money becomes available.
The 433-foot Lowell Bridge, located along Lowell Road over the Driftwood River, is listed among the top five bridges in the county in need of replacement.
Federal funding has already been approved for an $11-million new Lowell Bridge. In fact, a $1,189,700 design and construction agreement with United Consulting Engineers of Indianapolis for the project was approved last September. United engineers also created the bridge inventory after inspecting each of the structures.
But approval isn’t the same as having cash in hand, and decision-makers in Washington D.C. have their own schedules regarding grants for local roads, Bartholomew County highway engineer Danny Hollander said.
That’s why 2027 is the earliest that money will arrive to replace Lowell Bridge, the county highway engineer said.
“You are pretty well stuck in there,” Hollander said. “The federal government has all of their money programmed ahead of that.”
Another multi-million dollar project is the concrete bridge on East 25th Street over Clifty Creek, according to the inventory.
Since it also requires millions of dollars from the federal government, county government won’t be able to address a long-term solution for quite some time, Hollander said. But the good news is that neither bridge is considered dangerous for drivers and passengers.
“There’s nothing that is any risk to motorists,” the county engineer said. “The bridges are just showing their age.”
Among major roads, the bridge east of Petersville gives one of the roughest rides for motorists and passengers, Hollander said. That is due, in no small part, to using asphalt patching to seal up damaged areas of the concrete bridge.
Filling holes with asphalt or other quick fixes is far from being the ideal way to address deck problems, Hollander has said in earlier interviews.
Another problem is age and history. The Clifty Creek Bridge was part of a state highway for 37 years – from the time it was built in 1962 to when Bartholomew County accepted it in 1999, Hollander said. As a result, extensive salt corrosion and build-up has occurred over the past 61 years from snow and ice clearing efforts, he said.
The county is expected to take steps to place the Clifty Creek Bridge in line to receive federal funding to repair its structural concrete box beams. But county officials say it may take a few grant funding cycles before the project is accepted. Once it’s approved, it could mean about 10 years to get the money.
But repairs to the concrete deck can’t wait that long. When an county official said last year that the bridge deck will need attention “down the road,” Hollander immediately corrected him:
“Not down the road,” the county highway engineer said. “It needs it now.”
So the county highway department and United Consulting of Indianapolis have worked together since last fall to find a solution that will add 10 more years of life to the bridge. While there are no guarantees, Hollander is hopeful deck rehabilitation can begin in March and continue through the summer.
But there have been concerns expressed about using County Road 50N as a detour. If traffic is brought back to East 25th Street, it could go through residential subdivisions including Highland Ridge and Crestview. If the detour continues on to U.S. 31, it would pass by Clifty Creek Elementary School.
Overview of 2022 Bridge Inventory
Number of bridges: 144 average in all Indiana counties. 202 in Bartholomew County.
Average daily traffic: 1,560 in all Indiana counties. 1,725 in Bartholomew County.
Average age of bridges: 45 in all Indiana counties. 39 in Bartholomew County.
Bridges with posted weight limits: 13.8% of all Indiana bridges. 8.9% of all Bartholomew County bridges.
Bridges over 50 years old: 34.1% of all Indiana bridges. 22.3% of all Bartholomew County bridges.
Source: United Consulting Engineers of Indianapolis
Top five bridges slated for replacement
Bridge 44 – County Road 425N over Duck Creek – One of two back-to-back bridges east of County Road 800E (Newbern Road) in Haw Creek.
Bridge 170 – West Lowell Road over Driftwood River, just east of County Road 325 West in Columbus Township
Bridge 50 – County Road 850N over Duck Creek, just west of the Decatur County line in Haw Creek Township.
Bridge 249 – County Road 400W over Denois Creek. Located south of the Tipton Lakes area at the border of Columbus and Harrison townships.
Bridge 56 – County Road 900N over Haw Creek, near the junction of Stafford Roa in Haw Creek township.
Top Five bridges slated for rehabilitation
Bridge 111 – South Gladstone Avenue over Clifty Creek in Columbus Township.
Bridge 73 – County Road 900N over Flatrock River, north of the River Grove subdivision at the border of Flat Rock and German townships.
Bridge 116 – County Road 600S over Sand Creek, southwest of Elizaabethtown in Sand Creek Township.
Bridge 317 – East 25th Street over Clifty Creek in Clay Township.
Bridge 118 – County Road 500S over Little Sand Creek west of Elizabethtown in Sand Creek Township
Source: United Consulting Engineers of Indianapolis
