Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) officials plan to close State Road 44 at the Interstate 65 interchange near Franklin for 20-minute intervals on Wednesday while construction crews set bridge beams. INDOT Spokesman Harry Maginity says that Indiana State Police will be onsite to implement closures, which begin at 9 a.m. He adds that police will also manage ramp traffic. INDOT says that the I-65 on-and-off-ramps will remain open during the State Road 44 closures.

Maginity explains that this project will see a total of twelve steel I-beams, measuring approximately 80-feet each, be installed as part of the bridge’s new superstructure. He says that beams set Monday and Tuesday of this week do not impact traffic. However, the four beams to be installed Wednesday require a complete closure of State Road 44, says Maginity. He explains that a brief closing will take place each time one of the structural members is being put in place.

INDOT officials say its contractor has tentative plans to set I-beams over northbound I-65 lanes at the Main Street/Greenwood structure on Monday, March 15. That schedule calls for beams to be placed in the medium section of the bridge at Hurricane Creek (mile marker 92.0) on Tuesday, March 16.

INDOT says the work is dependent on the weather.