The Indiana Department of Transportation announced Friday it will not rebuild the condemned Cline Avenue bridge and instead will go with its "non-bridge" option, using Dickey and Riley Roads as a permanent detour.
A deal to have Ameristar Casino contribute up to $35 million to reconstruct the bridge in East Chicago did not pan out, and INDOT will put the demolition of the bridge out for bid in November, the agency said in a statement.
"INDOT was presented with an opportunity to rebuild the bridge with a financial contribution from Ameristar Casino," INDOT LaPorte District Deputy Commissioner Michael McPhillips stated. "We considered their proposal, but it has not worked out and we must move forward with our commitment to Northwest Indiana to construct a solution."
Ameristar Casino appeared to be taken by surprise by INDOT's decision on Friday, saying it appeared the state agency was no longer interested in its offer to help fund replacement of the bridge.
"Ameristar remained hopeful for some time that the bridge would have been rebuilt," Ameristar spokesman Reginald Dotson said. "While this news is unfortunate, Ameristar respects INDOT's need to make a decision based upon the long lead-time necessary for the design and the construction of the project."
Another nearby business, the Gary Jet Center, decried Friday's decision as "unconscionable" because it will make it harder for people to get to Gary/Chicago International Airport.
"All our business at the Jet Center is Illinois-based," said owner-operator Wil Davis. "The airport is expanding so it can attract commercial passenger service. And now we are going to make it harder for people to get here? How stupid is this?"
The Gary airport is currently in the midst of a $150 million expansion and Davis himself has invested more than $10 million in the past two years to expand his facilities.
Putting the bridge demolition out for bid in November pushes back the original timeline for getting the $70 million permanent detour built. A timeline issued by INDOT in April 2010 called for starting construction of a new mainline ramp from Cline Avenue to Dickey Road this summer and completing it by next.
INDOT officials did not return calls requesting additional comment and clarification on Friday afternoon.
On Wednesday in Bristol, Ind., Gov. Mitch Daniels said the "tantalizing" possibility of utilizing a public-private partnership with Ameristar to get the bridge rebuilt was still being investigated.
"As long as that's a possibility, we are going to see if it can work out," Daniels said. "But if it can't, we have to get busy."
In April 2010, INDOT said it could not afford to rebuild the bridge. It estimated the total cost at $150 million. Typically, the state has to pay about 20 percent of construction costs with the Federal Highway Administration paying the rest.
But in March of this year, Ameristar Casino offered to put up some of its own money to get the bridge rebuilt, which would have greatly reduced the state's share of the cost.
The Cline Avenue bridge was closed by INDOT in November 2009 and condemned a month later when it was found to have become dangerously weakened. Ameristar Casino revenues began a steep decline after the bridge closed and have only lately started to recover.