By Gitte Laasby, Post-Tribune
Cline Avenue isn't the only Northwest Indiana bridge in bad shape.
Eight bridges in Lake and Porter counties are more structurally deficient than at least one of the Cline Avenue ramps that the Indiana Department of Transportation recently closed for safety reasons, according to federal records.
INDOT closed a four-mile stretch of Cline Avenue between U.S. 41 (Calumet Avenue) in Hammond and Michigan Avenue (exit 5A) in East Chicago for safety reasons on Nov. 13 in response to an inspection report from a consulting company.
But according to 2006 data from the Federal Highway Administration, several other Northwest Indiana bridges may be badly in need of maintenance or even replacement. Eight of those bridges remain open to traffic although they are in worse condition than the closed Cline Avenue ramps.
Among the eight are three bridges in Porter County. Two of them are on Indiana 49 and carry a total of more than 14,200 vehicles per day. INDOT spokeswoman Angie Fegaras said the agency has scheduled both for construction in 2011.
Lake County owns the five most structurally deficient bridges. All are less traveled, carrying a total of about 1,500 vehicles per day. The routes include 176th Avenue over Cedar Creek in Lowell, Range Line Road over the Kankakee River, State Line Road over Williams Ditch and Poplar Lane over Hart Ditch in Munster.
Lake County Highway Department engineer Duane Alverson said 176th and Poplar Lane bridges have been designed and are close to being bid out. Range Line Road over the Kankakee presents the biggest problem because it was built in 1920 and falls under federal regulations for historic preservation. The county hopes to replace the bridge, but is still working with state and federal governments to get permission. Alverson said the bridge is still safe if people obey the 6-ton load limit.
"If somebody starts driving fully loaded tractor-trailers over there, the bridge is not rated for that," he said, but "the bulk of the traffic is vehicular traffic. It is safe for that. I'm not losing any sleep over that."
Alverson said he considers all Lake County bridges safe unless they're closed.
"If you're driving on a Lake County road, the bridge is posted for load, pay attention to that. Other than that, I have no worries," Alverson said.
He said since he started his job in 1995, the county has replaced well over 50 bridges.
"When I first started, there were a few bridges, they worried me," he said. "I don't have those concerns anymore. My assistant may, but I don't. Lake County's come a long way."
INDOT's Fegaras said the agency prioritizes bridge repairs and replacements based on the most recent inspection and available funding.
"All bridges in Indiana are inspected at least once every two years. INDOT would never allow the public to drive on a bridge considered to be unsafe," she said in an e-mail. "In the example of Cline Avenue, the most recent report cautioned INDOT that the corrosion was progressing faster than anticipated. Corrosion/deterioration can appear on any bridge structure as part of the normal wear and tear of the structure."
Alverson said the county generally only applies for federal funding when a project would cost more than $1 million because the federal approval process required for funding takes longer.
"If you use federal funds, traditionally it costs more to do it. If you've got a smaller bridge and you can go with local funds, you're going to do with less money. It's not worth it to go for federal funds all the time," he said.
"I can build a bridge in maybe 18 months to two years earlier if I go local as opposed to federal. But the feds are trying to shorten that up."
Taxes generate about $2.4 million for the county's bridge fund annually.
Federal funds pay for bridge inspections. When federal funding is obtained for replacement or repairs, the federal government pays 80 percent and state or local governments 20 percent.
The federal list from 2006 contains 27 structurally deficient bridges in Lake and Porter counties. They all had an overall ranking of 2 or 3 on a scale from 0 to 10, with 1 being the worst.
Since 2006, five of the bridges have been replaced, officials said. Several others are in the process of being replaced.
A bridge typically has a life span of 75 to 100 years.
Alverson said the main factors affecting how long a bridge will last is maintenance, use of salt and deicing chemicals and the amount of traffic it carries.