Traffic in East Chicago has seen dramatic shifts since the closure of the Cline Avenue bridge, with some intersections near the breaking point at rush hour, according to a recently released study.
The Indiana Department of Transportation released the report this past week, lifting the veil on much of the reasoning behind its controversial April decision not to rebuild the bridge over the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal.
The study estimates the cost of building a new Cline Avenue bridge at between $150 million to $160 million. Some local officials have said it would cost "north of" that figure, but INDOT would not release a figure when it announced its "non-bridge" option in April.
The cost of the option INDOT did choose, a permanent detour to the north of the condemned bridge utilizing Dickey and Riley roads, is pegged at between $61 million to $65 million in the study. That figure includes demolition costs of $39 million.
Nine other non-bridge options are outlined in the study, a number utilizing Columbus Drive or Chicago Avenue.
The study was prepared by Wilbur Smith Associates of Columbia, S.C.
INDOT officials met weekly with the consultants as they were developing their study, according to INDOT spokeswoman Angie Fegaras. Elements of the study were incorporated in the agency's final decision.
One recommendation that has not been decided on is the study's outline of plans for a football-field size traffic circle at Dickey and Riley roads, according to Fegaras.
The Cline Avenue bridge was condemned by INDOT in December, following a finding by consulting engineers that the bridge had become dangerously weakened.
Some 35,000 vehicles per day used the key link to region steel mills and casinos before the span closed.
According to the traffic study, a total of eight intersections operate at or near the point where some lanes become gridlocked during evening rush hours. Those major delays occur at key intersections on Columbus Drive, Michigan Avenue and Dickey Road, as well as Indianapolis Boulevard and Calumet Avenue south of Cline.
Three intersections bear the brunt of the shifts in traffic at the morning rush hour, operating near or at their breaking point, according to the study.
INDOT has undertaken a number of short-term steps at intersections to relieve traffic, including the designation of turn lanes and arrows, Fegaras said.
INDOT's plan for a permanent detour using Dickey Road and Riley Road will include a ramp from Cline to Dickey that will serve as a flyover for the railroad tracks there, where trains now routinely hold up traffic, Fegaras said.
On Friday morning, truckers exiting Michigan for Dickey at 7:30 a.m. had been waiting with varying degrees of patience for more than 45 minutes for a train stopped on the tracks.
The report also surmises that much of the 20 percent of Cline Avenue traffic that used the bridge as a through road now is diverting to the Indiana Toll Road.
The report notes traffic volumes on Calumet Avenue and Indianapolis Boulevard north of Cline Avenue actually have decreased since the bridge closure.
Hammond city officials vehemently contend that traffic has increased on their streets since the closure, including heavy trucks carrying steel coils on quiet residential streets in the Robertsdale neighborhood.