Two bridges over I-65 that were to be closed sequentially by the Indiana Department of Transportation for road work may now be closed for about two weeks at the same time.
From July 20 to Aug. 1, the Carr Hill Road overpass at I-65 and the County Road 200 South overpass at I-65 will likely be closed simultaneously for bridge work.
Dave Hayward, city engineer and executive director of public works, said the two bridges were originally supposed to be closed at different times. However, due to “scheduling difficulties with subcontractors,” Milestone Contractors requested to be able to close the roads simultaneously, he said.
The city gave its approval for the closure at Tuesday’s Columbus Board of Works meeting. However, Hayward noted that since Milestone’s contract is with the Indiana Department of Transportation, the city’s approval is just a precursor, and INDOT also has to approve this change to their contract.
“INDOT is still considering the contractor’s request to concurrently close Carr Hill Road and County Road 200S in late July/early August,” said INDOT Southeast District Public Relations Director Natalie Garrett. “We will have a decision soon.”
The work on these roads is part of INDOT’s superstructure replacement project. The nearly-$5 million project was awarded to Milestone Contractors in November 2019. According to Garrett, both bridges are to be completed by Nov. 30.
Hayward said that there were some concerns from the fire department about these road closures affecting response times to reach Shadow Creek Farms. However, as State Route 11 will be open during this period, this should not be a problem, Hayward said.
“They’ve really got three different directions they can come at that from, so they were confident they could still meet their needs there,” he said.
Hayward said that Carr Hill Road has been closed since about February or March but will be open in the next month or so.
“They’ll be opening up Carr Hill Road section long before school starts,” he told board of works members.
He could not give an exact estimate for how long County Road 200S will be closed, but said it would be open “before the end of this construction season.”
“One of the benefits of approving this change is that this is two weeks of construction that takes place prior to school starting,” Hayward said. “… So it really is a benefit in the long run to get some of this work taken care of during the summer months.”
The official detour route for Carr Hill Road follows Terrace Lake Road to Goeller Boulevard to State Road 46. Hayward did not give an official detour route for County Road 200S but speculated that it might involve taking State Route 11 to Deaver Road.
“On the local detours that people will find and take, there will be some additional congestion and some additional traffic,” Hayward said. “And people just need to be careful and take their time.”
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From July 20 to August 1, both the Carr Hill Road overpass at I-65 and the County Road 200 South overpass at I-65 will be closed for construction. Carr Hill Road should be open before school starts, and County Road 200S should be open by the end of the construction season.
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