Northwest Indiana Discussion

Firm asked for Cline Ave. limits a week before closure

One week before the Cline Avenue bridge closure, a bridge inspection firm warned INDOT that truck loads there must be reduced or a "structural failure" of the massive structure could occur.

A Nov. 6 letter from URS Corp., of San Francisco, advised INDOT to prohibit truck loads greater than 18 tons on the bridge and not to allow any vehicles on the 1.25-mile bridge's shoulders.

A single coil of steel, one of the most common trucking loads on Cline Avenue, can weigh more than 18 tons, according to local trucking companies.

The bridge remains closed, and INDOT has not set a date for the reopening. Traffic remains rerouted to local roads.

The URS letter, along with several volumes of engineering reports, was released Wednesday by the Indiana Department of Transportation in response to a Times Freedom of Information Act request.

In e-mailed responses late Wednesday, INDOT spokeswoman Angie Fegaras stated the decision to close the bridge was the "culmination of several inspections, reports and data collected over the past several years."

In response to the question of why the bridge was not closed until Nov. 13, when the letter is dated Nov. 6, Fegaras responded the letter was not received until early the week of Nov. 9. She also cited the voluminous nature of the report and the closing of INDOT for the Nov. 11 Veterans Day holiday as other reasons why action was not taken until Nov. 13.

"The INDOT administration made a decision to close the bridge to traffic as a precautionary safety measure based on the initial findings in the report," Fegaras said.


http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake ... 08c24.html

Legislators weigh in on Cline Avenue future

December 13, 2009
BY TERESA AUCH SCHULTZ, (219) 648-3120

Details on just how much construction work Cline Avenue needs and how much it will cost are still far off, but state officials agree on one thing: They should move it up the priority list.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has known for several years the four-mile stretch of road that's now closed to traffic has been in poor condition. INDOT had scheduled an $83 million construction project to replace the Cline Avenue bridge that goes over the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal and Riley Road. Funding for the project was supposed to last through 2012, according to an INDOT document.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1934879,n ... 13.article

One possibility to pay for the repairs would be to create a tax increment financing district, which would use some of the state's portion of taxes generated in the area to help pay for the road costs, said Ed Feigenbaum, editor of Indiana Gaming Insight. He said casinos pay different taxes, including admissions, wagering and property taxes.

"Under a TIF District, you would say 'X' percentage of taxes would go to redo the road. It is a state road so it would be state tax money, not local," Feigenbaum said.

He conceded, however, that it might not be an easy sell with state lawmakers. "Sen. Luke Kenley, R- Noblesville, in the past has not been too favorable of TIF Districts taking money from one area to give to another area, say from Buffington Harbor to downtown Gary," Feigenbaum said. "I don't know if it would be the same if the money were spent on the road."

Feigenbaum said the future could be a tough road.


http://www.post-trib.com/news/1936171,c ... 13.article

Yeah it is those Gary Republicans
that are to blame[/sarcasm]

There are a lot of people of the region out of work and if they take our money to demolish the many structures of the region then there should be a home rule where local people receive jobs.

Here are more bridges that need to come down and people of the region need work and home rule should be mandatory if T I F dollars are used.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6ce_1188501921&p=1

More Jobs for the region @ To the contractors who tear down bridges http://twurl.nl/aka4rz Gary , Indiana has 10 or more such bridges that need to come down

Closed Cline extension to be demolished

The state will demolish the closed stretch of Cline Avenue rather than repairing it, Indiana Department of Transportation Chief of Staff Bob Zier told the Post-Tribune on Monday.

The 30,000 vehicles that travel the stretch every day will be rerouted onto five or six major roads nearby.

In the long term, another structure might be built in place of the 1.25-mile Cline Avenue bridge. State officials will hold public meetings to get input on a new plan by the end of February.

"We made a decision that the resolution is not repairing the bridge. That the resolution is closing it permanently, removing it and then looking for alternatives. One of many of which is to put some other structure in the same pathway or it may be a whole new development plan up in that particular area," Zier said. "We're not ignoring the 30,000 cars. We're going to find capacity for more than 30,000 cars."

The decision came after INDOT officials met with URS Corp., the consulting firm whose inspection report was the basis for closing the bridge on Nov. 13.

"We asked them to go back and give us a full-fledged, 'What's it going to take? Does it work? Can we do something?'" Zier said. "They came back to us about two weeks ago, gave us more information. We evaluated that information and made the decision that investing millions in the rebuilding of that bridge doesn't make any sense because it's not going to give it the life it needs. It's similar to us being a little Dutch boy and trying to find enough fingers to stick in the dikes to stop the leaks. It just wasn't possible."

Zier said he talked to more than 20 local government officials and businesses Monday to get their input on how best to make traffic flow. INDOT will hold town hall meetings to collect input from the public.

"Everyone at INDOT understands the impact of this decision on residents, commuters and tourists," INDOT Commissioner Michael Reed said in a news release Monday. "However, the structural integrity of the bridge is in such a diminished state that any combination of repair or re-construction required to meet minimum safety requirements would cost in the tens of millions of dollars and offer a lifespan that would be a fraction of that justified by the investment."

Zier said a 25-year fix of the bridge would cost about $35 million. Tearing it down and rebuilding it would be $130 million.

INDOT spokeswoman Angie Fegaras said the state has yet to decide when the bridge will be demolished, and how the ends of the road will be connected to other roads.

Zier said the Cline Avenue bridge was built for 80,000 vehicles of daily traffic and to accommodate ships passing underneath.

"We don't need that kind of structure any longer. That structure is bigger than is necessary. So we will be looking at, do we put in a smaller structure, do we put a draw bridge in? Do we even use Cline Avenue? That's what we're asking the community for input on," he said. "We know what we have is not safe and it isn't a question of when won't it be safe. It's not safe today. We can't open it to any traffic, whether it be single lane in each direction. We can't put any trucks on it."

The inspection report revealed parts where concrete and steel piers meet the deck that supports the road had corroded. Metal separated in the concrete and moisture got into the support beams. Zier said he had not seen evidence to support rumors that the quick deterioration of the bridge was due to inferior construction materials.

INDOT said it will work with local officials to accelerate road work and minimize disruption to the public. Major nearby roads are not owned by the state. Road work would be funded by federal, state and local funds, Zier said.

To find the best replacement options for the bridge, INDOT will monitor traffic and start a traffic impact study to recommend prioritized lists of short- and long-term improvements to local streets, and near-term action to enhance streets and intersections.

Among the roads are Dickey Road at the railroad crossing, Riley Road and 129th Street, 129th Street at Indianapolis Boulevard, Michigan Avenue at Dickey Road and U.S. 12/Columbus Drive, and Cline Avenue ramps connecting with ArcelorMittal.

INDOT plans to collaborate with the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, local officials and businesses to come up with a plan by the end of February.

INDOT said the current detour and ramp accesses will remain in place until a new plan is done. INDOT will also put up new signs and devise other detours.

"We are starting (Tuesday) to put up new signage and coordinate lighting so you're not stuck at one light before you can get to the next one," Zier said.

Westbound Cline Avenue traffic is directed to take U.S. 12 (Columbus Drive) west to U.S. 12/20 (Indianapolis Boulevard) west to Calumet Avenue south. Eastbound traffic will be directed to take Calumet Avenue north to Indianapolis Boulevard, east to Columbus Drive, east back to Cline Avenue.

INDOT discussed the matter with Gov. Mitch Daniels and his staff.

A week ago, the governor said in an interview that the state would accelerate an existing replacement plan for Cline Avenue. At the time, INDOT and the governor were under the impression that a solution would be found very quickly, Zier said.

Daniels' spokeswoman, Jane Jankowski said everyone was on the same page.

"All the governor was saying is that things that were going to happen down the road were going to be moved forward," she said. "And we'll work with the community to find out what the solution is. That will happen by the end of February, which is an expedited time frame."

Bridge out for good and forgotten why waste good money tearing it down leave it standing and make a bike trail out of it.

Sound familiar

http://forgottenchicago.com/features/ch ... -for-good/


http://forgottenchicago.com/features/ch ... -for-good/


The state of Indiana has more pressing issues than to be spending good money on faster routes to work when the older routes are still in place.

The cities and towns of Lake county have been spending it's share of revenue from the state gas tax on foolishness instead of fixing its roads.

_______________________________________________________

What's really stupid is, the Dan Ryan - Eisenhower Interchange is of the "same design and construction", has been there for over 45 years, and shows signs of deterioration and is subject to the elements, same as Cline Avenue. Major difference is...truck lanes. Designed and constructed to handle truck traffic. Perhaps (again) INDOT and their engineers, contractors, etc. fumbled the ball, again.

P.S. Wait until you see the Band-Aid fix for the Borman-Kennedy Ave. flooding situation. What a joke.

January 6, 2010
BY CHELSEA SCHNEIDER, (219) 648-3072

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels visited the shuttered Cline Avenue bridge Tuesday and identified it as a problem the state needs to solve rapidly.

"None of us like the decision we had to make," Daniels said, regarding the Indiana Department of Transportation's announcement that the bridge would be permanently closed. "But public safety is not something we compromise."

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1975455,m ... 06.article

Daniels gives no timeline on replacing Cline bridge

But governor says money not an issue because of Toll Road lease


EAST CHICAGO | Gov. Mitch Daniels stood in the shadow of the Cline Avenue bridge at Riley Road on Tuesday afternoon and said something will be built to replace the condemned 1.25-mile span as "speedily as we can."

The second-term governor, however, would not commit to any timeline for replacing the bridge nor speculate on what might take its place.

"I don't think we know the answer because no one knows what that something is or ought to be," Daniels said when asked how soon work could begin on a replacement.

"It's a fascinating situation. The bridge was built in a completely different day, everybody knows. It was built to carry 100,000 vehicles and there's not a third of that today."

Those kinds of answers are beginning to grate on community leaders who are eager to know what will be done to handle the 30,000 cars and trucks per day now detouring onto local roads.

"What I'm hearing from the people in neighborhoods is they are having more traffic, the safety of the children is a concern, and I'm hearing from some constituents we don't have money to repair our roads as it is now," said Lake County Councilwoman Christine Cid, D-East Chicago.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake ... 4407a.html

Just go several blocks south and get on The Indiana toll road get off at exit 10 in Gary and it goes into Cline Avenue 1 block 75 cents toll.

No there is nothing funny about 100 plus year old abandoned Bridges over our heads in Gary on state highways.

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=41.612555&lon ... 16&l=0&m=b