Construction crews will begin work on a Stinesville bridge in August. The Stinesville Road bridge over Jack’s Defeat Creek has been classified as “structurally obsolete” since 2008.
The 53-year-old bridge is used by 90% of Stinesville residents and is the access for emergency personnel.
An inspection by Indianapolis consulting firm Bean, Longest and Neff in 2012 rated the bridge sufficiency at 47 of 100 points. A score below 50 means the bridge must be replaced.
Officials are sometimes forced to close the bridge during heavy rain because it floods.
The replacement bridge is designed to last 75 years and will include a bicycle lane.
The steep, downward curve leading to it will be straightened to improve safety.
“This project will take at least a year to be completed,” said Bill Williams, public works director and highway engineer for Monroe County. “It’s a major renovation – reconstruction of the curve as well as the bridge itself.”
A Federal Highway Administration Transportation Recovery Grant is providing $1,496,600. Another $1,004,000 of federal grant money was provided through the Indiana Department of Transportation. The local government will pay $625,250 to bring the total cost of the project to $3,125,850.
“That’s a lot of good help from other sources,” said Iris Kiesling, Monroe County Board of Commissioners president, during an April 19 meeting. “That’s great.”
A detour will be set up at Little Wolf Mountain Road, which will be repaved and widened 20 feet for school traffic.
The board approved a contract between the county and Community Natural Gas Co. April 19 to move nearby gas lines. The company will be reimbursed $27,875 by the county, then the county will be reimbursed $22,300 by the federal government.
INDOT will open bids for the project in July.
Originally published in Ellettsville Journal, 2013. Republished here for archival and portfolio purposes.