TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — In a meeting on Thursday, the Indiana Department of Transportation said it will be rehabilitating the SR 163 bridge over Brouilletts Creek.
The project will address the bridge’s deteriorating condition and structural deficiencies. These improvements will substantially extend the life of the bridge.
The initial preferred alternative reduced the bridge to a single travel lane. This meaning bi-directional traffic would have been maintained through traffic signals. There was a hearing about this solution held in January 2023.
However, this was not a popular alternative in the people of Vermillion County’s eyes. There were over 100 comments and more than 400 signatures on a petition opposing one-lane traffic.
The new alternative is that there will be two lanes of traffic maintained. No signals will be added. Shoulders are slightly narrower than existing and metal bridge railing will be added.
Public Relations Director of INDOT Crawfordsville, Megan DeLucenay, said this would not have been possible without the voices of people form Vermillion County.
“That’s why having hearings and public information meetings are so important. Your voice does matter. The reason why we are proposing a new alternative is because of what we heard from the community. Everything you say we do take into consideration. That’s what we have to do before we make any changes or big changes like that,” she said.
If you want to share your thought and concerns, a link to the website containing this survery is linked here.
