By VICKI URBANIK
Porter County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger said she’s preparing to write a
letter informing the state that the county government is pulling out of its
agreement to maintain the new Ind. 249 bridge.
As discussed two weeks ago, cracks have developed on the bridge deck,
raising concerns for county officials responsible for maintaining the $6.1
million bridge, which opened last July. The bridge is officially named the
South Shore Industrial Safety Overpass and carries traffic, including
steel-hauling trucks, over the track that was the site of a triple fatality
in 1998 between a truck and a South Shore passenger train.
North Porter County Commissioner John Evans on Tuesday said the bridge falls
outside the county’s normal scope of bridge maintenance.
“We don’t have the money to maintain the bridge,” he said.
The county commissioners earlier agreed to take the position with the
Indiana Department of Transportation that the cracks are related to the
bridge construction, which the state handled, and are not a maintenance
issue. But Rinkenberger said the letter that was prepared wasn’t forceful
enough, and that she’s planning to write a different letter telling the
state that the county is pulling out of the agreement that called for the
county to maintain the bridge.
Evans said the bridge wouldn’t have been built if the county didn’t agree to
maintain it, though the commissioners didn’t want that responsibility and
entered into the agreement reluctantly.
County Highway Engineer Dave Schelling said he’s not surprised that cracks
have developed so soon after the bridge opened. But, he said, the fact that
cracks are intersecting in areas where there is no support underneath
indicates to him that the concrete will eventually pop out, he said.
Schelling also said that someone -- and it wasn’t the county highway
department -- placed “no parking” signs on the bridge, presumably to prevent
trucks from waiting on the bridge before they can enter the steel mill.
Rinkenberger said in her mind, whoever erected the signs assumed some
responsibility over the bridge and should be the one to maintain it from
this point forward.
Covered Bridge
Another bridge that was a commissioner topic Tuesday was the covered bridge
on the Calumet Bicycle Trail. The bridge, the county’s only covered bridge,
has long been the target of vandalism.
Evans said he wants to move the bridge to Sunset Hill Farm County Park and
asked County Park Superintendent Ed Melendez to begin looking for a site in
the park as well as to investigate the transportation costs involved.
“I think it’s going to be destroyed if we leave it where it is,” Evans said,
referring to the ongoing damage at the bridge.
Shelter, Park Improvements
Also Tuesday, the commissioners approved several funding requests for
improvements at both the Porter County Animal Shelter and at Sunset Hill
Farm.
Animal Shelter Director Sandy Ogle won approval for $33,179 to purchase a
new animal control vehicle, replacing one with more than 200,000 miles on
it. The funding will come from the commissioners’ cable franchise fund,
which must be used on roads and road rights of way.
Ogle also received approval to build a $5,450 storage shed to store shelter
items, such as food, bedding and cages. Ogle said the shelter has no room
whatsoever for the items, and that some of the supplies are now being stored
in kennels, taking up space that could be better used for housing dogs.
The commissioners also agreed to spend $3,200 on new duct work at the
shelter and $631 for a new drop ceiling. The shed, along with the interior
repairs, will be funded through the commissioners’ property disposal fund
accumulated from the sale of county buildings.
At Sunset Hill, Melendez received the commissioners’ approval for $65,500 to
repave the main road at the county park, using the portion of CEDIT revenues
allocated to the parks. The commissioners also approved $5,250 for 600 tons
of limestone that will be placed on the new drive that enters the park from
Meridian Road across from Ridgeway Drive.
Posted 4/20/2005
