EAST CHICAGO — The state and a private development group announced an agreement Wednesday for construction of a toll bridge in place of the shuttered Cline Avenue bridge.
Gov. Mitch Daniels and East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland said the pact with United Bridge Partners, a team of FIGG Bridge Companies, Lane Construction Corp. and American Infrastructure MLP Funds, would build the new toll bridge with private funds in the footprint of the unsafe Cline Avenue structure.
The state closed the elevated Cline Avenue bridge in 2009 after inspectors found it structurally unsound. Initially, state officials said it wouldn’t be rebuilt. About 35,000 vehicles used the highway daily and it served as a major link between Hammond and Gary.
Earlier in the week, the East Chicago City Council okayed the plan giving Copeland the green light to transfer the 1.25-mile section of Cline owned by the state to United Bridge Partners.
Later this month, the council is expected to consider resolutions for a 10-year tax abatement for developers and additional financial support through the creation of a tax increment finance district.
The project has been estimated to cost at least $150 million.
“This is a solution worth waiting for and the state is glad to be a partner to the agreement,” said Daniels in a written statement. “This is a creative move by Mayor Copeland and the city of East Chicago that will be beneficial to Northwest Indiana and puts Indiana further in front as a leader in private sector infrastructure investment.”
The cost of the tolls wasn’t disclosed but East Chicago will collect 10 cents per vehicle.
Tolls would only be collected electronically, using a system interoperable with transponders for other regional toll systems like the Indiana Toll Road. No tolls would be charged for emergency vehicles responding to a call or during a local emergency declared by the mayor, governor or president.
“A new Cline Avenue Bridge will result in additional construction jobs and related employment while enhancing transportation in East Chicago,” said Copeland in the statement.
Under a separate agreement, INDOT would convey its right of way holdings underneath the Cline Avenue bridge to United Bridge Partners in exchange for property that INDOT has determined is needed for other projects. INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield said he didn’t know the location of the other parcels in the exchange.
United Bridge Partners would be required to follow national standards for building, inspecting, maintaining and repairing public bridges. The new bridge must meet clearance and environmental permitting requirements for the Indiana Harbor Canal.
Several state legislators have signed letters of support for the United Bridge Partners’ proposal.
The $8.9 million demolition of the closed bridge has begun, and will be completed by the end of 2012.
Walsh Construction Co. of Crown Point anticipates removing the remaining unsafe portions using a combination of explosives and traditional demolition methods.