Sell 4 Free Real Estate
Dubois County Bridge Renovations
Highway Engineer Levi Leffert has provided an update on Dubois County’s current and
upcoming bridge renovations.
Little Creek Bridge, located on 200 West, was closed on November 3 to begin a
superstructure replacement. The concrete deck was poured on November 26, with extra
precautions taken due to the freezing temperatures. This week, a stone sub-base will be
added on both sides to raise the level of the roadway. Next week, asphalt will be added
and guardrail will be installed. After testing to be sure the concrete design strength has
been reached, the bridge could open as early as the end of next week.
The department’s next project will be Bridge 116 located on County Road 820 East, 0.8
miles north of Schellville Road. The road will be closed on Monday, December 8, to
begin demolition of the concrete deck for a superstructure replacement. The concrete is
scheduled to be poured before Christmas so that it can cure through the end of
December, opening to traffic in early January.
The federal grant application for the Bridge Safety Improvement project was submitted
to INDOT on November 19. The department is waiting to see if they will be awarded the
funds to upgrade the guardrail and entryways on 50 to 60 of the county’s bridges.
INDOT plans to announce allocations on or around January 26.
The County Council approved funds for the proposed rehabilitation project for Bridge
78, located on County Road 600 West over the Patoka River. American Structurepoint
should complete the plans and contract documents within the next 2 weeks. These will
be advertised by the end of December or early January, with the goal of awarding a
contractor sometime in February.
Work should occur during the Spring and Summer of 2026, with a full closure of up to 2
months. At 220 feet long, Leffert said the bridge is one of the largest maintained by the
county and has not had much maintenance since it was built over 60 years ago. He said
work is necessary, but noted, “There’s not a good detour around that. It will impact the
traveling public…but it’s a lot less of an impact than replacing the whole bridge. If we
were to do nothing with it, we’d have to replace it down the road.”
An update was provided on the Small structure inspection, which is on a 3-year cycle
through a contract with BF&S. 106 small structures were inspected to identify any
maintenance issues that are necessary or should be budgeted for in the future. The
inspections were described as contributing significantly to increased safety for the
public, as these structures were not routinely inspected before the county entered into
the contract about 6 years ago. Pressing concerns were relayed to the department
before reporting concluded, with bridge crews making immediate repairs.
For more information, visit the Highway Department webpage at www.duboiscountyin.org
- By Drew Hasselbring