Bartholomew County has closed Bridge 188 over the East Fork White River east of Ogilville after an inspection determined it had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer safe to carry heavy traffic.
County officials said they have known for years that the bridge, along the Ohio-Wayne Township border, has been in disrepair.
While the bridge replacement was placed on next year’s priority list, Bartholomew County commissioner’s Chairman Larry Kleinhenz said work can’t be put off any longer.
Located along County Road 400W, just south of County Road 550S, the 50-year-old bridge has deteriorated to the point where it is no longer considered safe to carry heavy traffic, Kleinhenz said.
With the exception of State Road 58, County Road 400W is considered one of the busiest north-south roads west of Interstate 65 in southern Bartholomew County, county highway engineer Danny Hollander said. As it extends south to become Jackson County Road 300E, it picks up a lot of traffic from different areas that stretch all the way down to Courtland, Hollander said.
While there are several rural roads that can be used as detours in southwest Bartholomew County, the bridge closing is “going to put a lot of traffic on roads driven by folks who aren’t used to having a lot of traffic,” Hollander said.
On Friday morning, Hollander met with representatives of Milestone Contractors LP of Columbus, who determined that while they can’t fix the problems immediately, they can stabilize the bridge well enough to allow it to reopen in as little as three weeks.
In early 2018, the county agreed to pay a total of $145,400 to the Columbus-based engineering consulting firm Strand Associates, Inc. for design services on Bridge 188, as well as a similar structure located only 800 feet away on the same road.
But later that same year, there were at least three emergency road closings that were so costly that a number of projects — including Bridge 188 — had to temporarily be placed on hold.
Other delays have been caused by escalating prices for road and bridge materials, as well as by environmental issues that require additional permits, Hollander said.
“There are wetlands in that area,” the engineer said. “That’s what kind of holding us up now.”
As Milestone personnel prepare to temporarily stabilize the bridge, Hollander says he has asked Strand engineers to expedite their plans for a permanent replacement to Bridge 188 as soon as possible.
