The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) says that its $1.6 million project to replace the State Road 7 bridge over Little Sand Creek at County Road 525 East in Bartholomew County will get underway next week. INDOT Spokesman Harry Maginity says that the bridge required emergency repairs last summer due to damaged box beams. At that time, load weight restrictions were imposed.

Maginity says that removing and replacing the single-span structure will take place one-half-at-a-time. He adds that the first part of the work will require traffic to be shifted to the west side of the bridge, where lane widths will be restricted to 10-feet.

Maginity says that a new reinforced concrete bulb “T-Beam” structure will measure 90 feet in length with 51 feet of clear roadway side-to-side. INDOT officials anticipate normalizing traffic flow at the bridge in early October. They note that the work is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 15.

Maginity says that, during construction, southbound County Road 525E will experience closures to Elizabethtown. He added that northbound County Road 525E will be less impacted.