MORGANTOWN — Work planned for the State Road 135 bridge over Indian Creek likely won’t happen until 2020, state transportation officials said last night.
The Indiana Department of Transportation conducted a public hearing about fixing the iron truss bridge on Aug. 16 at the Morgan County Public Library. Several Brown County residents and government officials attended.
The bridge over Indian Creek just south of Morgantown on State Road 135 is eligible to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places because of its “association with a statewide trend of improving state roads to access Indiana’s state park system,” INDOT said. For that reason, INDOT plans to renovate this bridge rather than replace it with a modern one.
To do that, a temporary bridge will be built upstream (east) of this one.
The plan is for State Road 135 to stay open during the work, except for “two to three days at most” while the temporary bridge is being tied into the pavement, said INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity.
“Last night, businesses were reassured there would be no disruption to traffic flow,” he said via email on Aug. 17.
The highway may close for a couple days again shortly before the old bridge is reopened, said Nashville Town Council member Arthur Omberg, who attended the public hearing.
“We informed them that this is a pipeline for a ton of people from Brown County who commute to Indy in particular,” added Nashville Utility Coordinator Sean Cassiday. “People don’t use (Interstate) 65 like you think they do.”
The exact timetable for the bridge work has not been determined. The target for construction is 2020, Maginity said.
This bridge was struck by a vehicle in October 2015 and was closed for a few days. It was then closed again between April 22 and June 10, 2016, for further repairs, blocking the main artery between Brown County and points north.
The work this time around will include a new concrete deck, joint replacement, a concrete bridge approach replacement, cleaning and painting the existing truss, and replacing various truss member and floor system members as needed, INDOT reported in a press release.
State Road 135 patching
Other work on State Road 135 will take place next week.
INDOT is planning to make pavement repairs in downtown Nashville Tuesday through Thursday, Aug. 21 to 23. The work will be done on State Road 135 between State Road 46 and Mound Street.
Deep patches — one as long as 100 feet — will be installed in the road, weather-permitting, said INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity.
Work is planned from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Flaggers will direct drivers around work sites.
