NB I-65 in Indiana to remain closed ‘indefinitely’ near Lafayette

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Updated Aug 20, 2015
Wilcat Creek bridge

UPDATE 8/17: InDOT is now projecting reopening of the bridge / I-65 NB potentially as early as mid-September. Read more in this linked report.

 

Original story follows:

After a brief closure August 4, the northbound bridge span on I-65 in Tippecanoe County over Wildcat Creek, near Lafayette, reopened only to shortly close again as engineers monitoring the span “noticed movement in the riverbank pier and ordered the bridge closed” last Friday afternoon, said the Indiana Department of Transportation.

It’s a closure that by some estimates will reroute 8,000 trucks a day on a 40-mile detour and end up costing the industry untold amounts. This report in the Indianapolis Star details the state trucking association’s efforts to calculate such costs.

An estimated reopening date for the bridge will not be known, InDOT added, “until soils testing and analysis is completed.”

InDOT will work to provide updates as new information is available, it said.

Detours in place
I-65 NB merges to one lane and is diverted onto U.S. 52 at Exit 141 north of Lebanon. Follow U.S. 52 north for nearly 17 miles, then turn left at State Road 28. Follow 28 west for about 10 miles, then turn right onto U.S. 231. Follow U.S. 231 north for about 33 miles until it intersects I-65 again in White County.

INDOT is working to identify and clear alternate routes other than the official detour: All lane closures were lifted earlier this week on I-74 to utilize as well. Drivers may exit I-74 and proceed north on SR 63, U.S. 41 and U.S. 24 as an alternate route to I-65.

Other highway news around the nation via @OverdriveUpdate via this link.