Safety concerns close northbound I-65 again in Lafayette

She did not know exactly what the safety issue is.

"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."

The department could not provide additional information about the repairs or estimated reopening time.

The bridge was initially closed Tuesday when construction crews working on a state project to widen I-65 to six lanes between Indiana 25 and Indiana 38 noticed structural problems. After observing unusual movements, they discovered that some rocker bearings that relieve pressure on the bridge had fallen out.

The interstate reopened Wednesday night, after more than a day of repairs and efforts to stabilize the northbound bridge over Wildcat Creek.

But the return to traffic as normal was brief.

According to a release from INDOT Friday, "structural engineers monitoring the I-65 northbound bridge over Wildcat Creek since it reopened on Wednesday noticed movement in the same vertical riverbank pier and ordered the bridge closed."

As of about 2 p.m. Friday, traffic was still traveling I-65 northbound and crossing the bridge over Wildcat Creek. It was reduced to one lane across the bridge.

The detour is the same as the route established Tuesday, Indiana State Police dispatch said. When Journal & Courier reporter Hannah Smith Kiefer tested the detour Wednesday, it was a grueling adventure, and it took her nearly four hours to drive from Lebanon to Lafayette.