SHADELAND, Ind.(WLIF)-Two bridges on Lilly Road are one step closer to being replaced. The county commissioners signed a design contract today for bridges 64 and 65 which are located in Shadeland near the Evonik plant. The bridges serve as an alternative emergency route for the company.
The other route emergency vehicles typically use passes over railroad tracks which could create an issue if a train were stopped.
The current bridges are one lane and aren't structurally sound enough to support the weight of emergency vehicles.
“The load restriction of the bridges is not as important and neither is the narrowness to employees coming in and out but if we had to have emergency services they are too narrow for the large loads," said Stewart Kline Executive Director, of the Tippecanoe County Highway Department.
The overall cost of the project is 3-million dollars. 80 percent will be federally funded. The county will pay the remaining 20 percent, around six hundred thousand dollars. Construction on the bridges is expected to start in 2025.
