INDOT: I-65 Lafayette bridge woes may stem from original construction

A decade after a report identified substructural problems with a bridge across Wildcat Creek, northbound lanes of Interstate 65 closed for the second time in less than a week due to safety concerns.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has not yet isolated the specific cause of the issue, according to spokeswoman Debbie Calder.

"We had been monitoring it closely since it was shut down," she said. "They decided for the safety of the motoring public they're going to shut it down."

Experts in soils and geotechnical science from INDOT, Federal Highway Administration and Walsh Construction will be brought in to evaluate the site.

Testing may be needed to identify the proper course of action, INDOT said. There is no estimated reopening time.

Substructural problems on the bridge are noted in INDOT inspection reports dating back at least a decade.

Bearings at the top of the steel components that support the bridge deck had a significant tilt to the north that worsened when air temperatures fell, inspector Sherwood Garrison noted on May 5, 2005.