The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has announced that a route transfer agreement has been signed with the City of East Chicago to relinquish sections of Riley Road and Dickey Road to INDOT.

Effective October 1, this agreement will INDOT to reroute Ind. 912 (Cline Ave.) as part of the Cline Ave. traffic solution plan.

In mid-April, INDOT announced a multi-project traffic solution designed to address the displaced traffic due to the closure of the Cline Ave. bridge. One key element in the design solution is transferring sections of Riley and Dickey roads in the City of East Chicago. This transfer will enable INDOT to construct a new ramp from Cline Ave. to Dickey Road as well as to undertake additional improvements along these roads.

“Thanks to the hard work of INDOT staff and Mayor Pabey of East Chicago and his staff, we are transferring Riley and Dickey roads to INDOT, which allows us to move forward with our Cline Ave. traffic solution,” INDOT Chief of Staff Bob Zier said. “Since we announced the bridge would not reopen to traffic, our team of staff and consultant engineers has been working diligently with the local communities conducting numerous meetings and discussions to understand the traffic needs of the businesses and residents to determine the most appropriate solution. The signing of the route transfer agreement is a culmination of the positive partnerships formed over the past few months.”

Riley Road from the Cline Ave. interchange to the Dickey Road intersection will be transferred to INDOT as well as Dickey Road from the Riley Road intersection to just northwest of Michigan Avenue, including the draw bridge on Dickey Road.

The transfer total is 1.39 centerline miles.

Design plans for the new ramp from Cline Ave. to Dickey Road will move forward in addition to the rehabilitation of two of the Riley to Cline Ave. ramps that will remobilize traffic west of the bridge. The lift bridge on Dickey Road will also be upgraded to an automated lift bridge to function similar to that of the U.S. 12/20/Ind. 152 (Indianapolis Boulevard) lift bridge. Today the Dickey Road bridge is raised and lowered manually.

The Riley Road ramp improvement project was awarded last week to Walsh Construction for $2.2 million. The project will reconstruct the Riley Road ramp to Cline Ave. to allow Riley Road traffic to access westbound Cline Ave. The traffic patterns that establish once the ramp opens this fall will help determine if and when the ramp will accommodate eastbound traffic.

The first project as part of the Cline Ave. traffic solution is already under construction: re-surfacing the Michigan Ave. ramp to Cline Ave. in East Chicago near ArcelorMittal Steel. This project will mill the concrete surface of the ramp and replace it with asphalt. A temporary ramp from Michigan Ave. to Cline Ave. just north of the existing ramp will be constructed as part of the project. Once the temporary ramp is built, traffic will use the newly constructed ramp whiles crews resurface the existing ramp.

Initial work on the Michigan ramp is already underway with no current road restrictions. During the week of July 26 crews will begin milling the existing pavement and resurface the roadway. Work will take place during the evening and overnight hours from 6:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. to lessen the impact on traffic, especially during shift changes. One direction of traffic will be guided through the area during those hours.

The Cline Ave. bridge was originally constructed and opened to traffic in 1983. In 1999, INDOT began noticing structural deficiencies that required closer monitoring with increased inspections and programming a bridge rehabilitation project. In 2006, INDOT hired a consultant to conduct detailed inspections every six months. In November 2009, INDOT began a temporary closure of the bridge to all traffic while a more detailed review was conducted to determine the overall safety of the bridge. On December 28, INDOT announced that Cline Ave. between Michigan and Calumet would not reopen to traffic due to the diminished state of the structural integrity of the bridge.

INDOT will continue to work with the City of East Chicago and other community partners, including the Regional Development Authority and area casinos, to help enhance the overall mobility and safety of the interchanges on Cline Ave. at Jeorse Park and the Indiana Toll Road. Designs for both interchange improvements are still conceptual, although INDOT is committed to working with these community partners to determine the appropriate traffic and capacity needs, identifying funding sources, and incorporating design elements in the spirit of cooperation.

Posted 7/15/2010