Muscatatuck Bridge work to begin in May

Officials with the Indiana Department of Transportation recently met with the contractor that will complete a bridge deck overlay project on U.S. 31 north of Austin.

Plans call for E&B Paving of Clarksville to rehabilitate one half of the Musc-atatuck River bridge at a time, beginning in early May. Temporary traffic signals at either end of the bridge will allow motorists to cross the structure in alternating directions on a single lane.

E&B Paving will receive $1,746,500 for the project, which includes milling away the existing overlay, then use a hydro-demolition process to remove residual materials before patching the deck and applying a new 1¾-inch latex modified concrete overlay.

Bridge joints will be replaced. Piers will be scoured. New concrete railing will be installed. Shoulders will be widened with existing approach slabs removed — and new pavement poured.

The bridge is an eight-span concrete I-beam structure measuring 655 feet in length, accommodating 43½ feet of side-to-side clear roadway. It is located 0.8 miles south of Interstate 65, straddling the Jackson-Scott County line in Jennings and Vernon Townships.

INDOT anticipates work should be completed by the end of August, weather permitting.