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After further analysis by structural engineers from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and its consultant, INDOT has closed the Martin Luther King Drive bridge over I-80/94 (Borman Expressway) to all traffic as an additional safety precaution, said INDOT.

INDOT suspects the cracks found on the concrete beams have compromised the load bearing capacity of the bridge. To restore this crossing to traffic, INDOT plans to replace the bridge beams and concrete driving surface that form the bridge superstructure as a corrective measure as soon as possible.

Traffic is being rerouted to State Road 53 (Broadway), a state maintained route, via 21st and 35th Avenues. A 2009 traffic count reports an average of 4,100 vehicles per day travel on MLK Drive.

INDOT will soon select an engineering firm so construction can begin as early as this fall. The goal is to reopen the MLK Drive bridge to traffic by the end of June 2011. Early estimates for the replacement will cost approximately $2.5 million.

INDOT had received notice from staff bridge engineers and its consultant regarding the severity of the cracks on the concrete support beams and bridge deck surface. INDOT then restricted the bridge to passenger vehicles only with special enforcement by Indiana State Police Troopers to prevent trucks and buses from crossing the bridge. Since the restriction, INDOT has been further analyzing and inspecting the bridge structure.

The bridge was constructed in 2004 as a design-build project to span the widened Borman Expressway. INDOT is looking at various aspects of the design and construction to understand why problems appeared in the bridge only six years after it was constructed. Crews will be inspecting other bridges constructed during the same timeframe in this immediate area as a precautionary measure to ensure the integrity of their condition.

For more information, please visit www.in.gov/indot.