Cline Avenue Bridge talks go on

Negotiations on building a private toll bridge to replace the failed Cline Avenue span are continuing, but there isn't much new to report since Gov. Mitch Daniels commented on negotiations two months ago, Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Will Wingfield said.

On Dec. 14 at Gary/Chicago International Airport, the governor said a deal with the company American Bridge Partners was "close." The proposed project involves constructing a private toll bridge over the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal.

"If we can get to a final agreement, work can get started pretty soon," the governor said after a ribbon-cutting for an expanded Indiana Toll Road at the airport.

It has been more than two years since the Cline Avenue Bridge was condemned, severing one of the region's main transportation links.

Wingfield said progress continues to be made in negotiations with American Bridge Partners. Tolling on the bridge would be similar to the open-road electronic tolling used on the Indiana Toll Road and Illinois Tollway, where motorists don't have to stop at toll booths to pay.

Wingfield said bids for the rebuilding of Ramp D from eastbound Cline Avenue to Riley Road will be opened March 7 and the project remains separate from the negotiations regarding a private toll bridge. INDOT had said previously that job would be let for bid Feb. 8.

Walsh Construction Co., of Crown Point, has been awarded an $8.9 million contract for demolishing the existing Cline Avenue Bridge. Work on that project will begin in late February or early March and is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

The Feb. 8 bid letting featured a bid opening for a much-awaited region project. Two bids were received and opened for a project that will rebuild Fourth and Fifth avenues in the heart of Gary as part of an extensive upgrade of a three-mile stretch of U.S. 12.

Walsh & Kelly Inc., of Griffith, was the apparent low bidder at $13.5 million. Rieth-Riley Construction, of Goshen, was the only other bidder at $13.8 million. It generally takes INDOT a couple of weeks to award a contract.