The Indiana Department of Transportation has awarded a contract for the long-delayed replacement of the Nine-Span bridge and demolition work could begin this month.
Dunnet Bay Construction, of Glendale Heights, Ill., has been awarded the $17.99 million contract for demolishing the existing bridge and building a new one, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Demolition work on the existing bridge is expected to begin late this month or in early January. INDOT projects a completion date for the new bridge sometime in November 2013.
The bridge will be closed for demolition and construction and detours are likely to begin this month. INDOT will be issuing bulletins on the closure and appropriate detours.
The Nine-Span Bridge is currently rated as being in "poor" condition and underwent major repairs eight years ago. Some heavy trucks are banned from the bridge. It carries Indianapolis Boulevard vehicle traffic over the CSX tracks and Indiana Harbor Belt's Gibson Yard.
INDOT originally slated construction to start in 2009 on a replacement for the bridge. But the date was pushed back to revise its design so it did not interfere with development in Gibson Yard, according to state officials at the time.
The hoped-for development under the Nine-Span Bridge already is turning into reality, with international fertilizer producer Potash Corp. starting work on a $40 million transfer facility there.
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