Photo: Bill Shaw/WTIU News
Engineers found excessive corrosion on the bridge, which was built in 1933.
Work began this week to fix an aging bridge on State Road 46 in Clay County. The bridge, which crosses the Eel River between Spencer and Terre Haute, has been closed since July.
Indiana Department of Transportation spokesperson Debbie Calder says engineers found structural deficiencies in the nearly eighty year old bridge.
“In July, we had structural engineers retained by INDOT recommend closing the bridge after they identified some more corrosion in the structural steel than was previously documented. The contractor is reinforcing about eight areas of steel on the bridge to repair it,” she says
This is the second time the bridge has been closed in the past year. Calder says INDOT plans to replace or completely refurbish the bridge within the next few years.
“The contractor was out there that we hired for the Department of Transportation looking to do a more extensive contract in the future, and that’s when they found these problems,” she says.
Calder says the bridge should be reopened by the end of October.
