Efforts to repair the Third Street bridge in Logansport might finally be coming to fruition more than a decade after initial plans were drawn up.
After years of debate with historic preservationists, the Indiana Department of Transportation has set a fall 2011 start date for the project, which will cost $2.5 to $3 million.
“It’s been a long episode of patience,” said Joe Kitchel, a member of the Logansport Historic Preservation Commission. “I’ve just hung in there and made our wishes known. We were persistent about what we wanted.”
Original INDOT plans called for complete replacement of the bridge built in 1918 by Daniel B. Luten. A 2000 archeological report compiled by the state highway department said demolishing the original bridge would have no adverse effect on historical structures in Logansport.
“There are no historic structures within the project area,” the report reads. “It will not impact any structures of historical significance. The new bridge simply replaces an existing ‘modern’ structure.”
Local historic preservationists disagreed, making the case that Luten was one of the state’s most inventive concrete bridge engineers and one of Indiana’s most prolific builders. His work was created in the early 20th century “City Beautiful” movement, they said, and the Logansport span is one of three Luten bridges remaining in Indiana.
“I have major reservations about this project,” Mark Dollase of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana wrote in 2001. “Not only will it permanently remove an extremely significant historical bridge, but it also impacts three historic districts listed in the National Register.”
Kitchel said that after preservationists insisted they wanted to preserve the bridge, the state discovered that restoration would actually be less expensive than replacement, the state compromised in 2003. The original bridge will remain and initial plans to change the angle of the bridge have been eliminated.
“Some preservationists say we have witnessed a minor miracle, that we went head-to-head with INDOT and came out on our side,” Kitchel said. “I don’t think it’s anything that monumental.”
The bridge that carries Ind. 17 across the Eel River is a four-span structure built by National Concrete Co. The area designated for the project is 310 meters long.
Kitchel said INDOT worked in coordination with the historic preservation commission to choose lighting for the bridge project. INDOT is providing historic lampposts that match as closely as possible the lighting of the past era.
Local advocates also hope to include signage concerning the bridge’s historical significance.
The bridge restoration work will also coincide with the River Bluff multi-use path crossing over the Eel River. The path will cross the east side of the bridge up to Linden Avenue, cross Ind. 17 at the south side of Linden Avenue, progress south to Wheatland Avenue and cross Wheatland Avenue to the park property along the north bank of the Eel River. The path will be a minimum of eight feet wide.
Throughout the duration of the project, Ind. 17 will be closed, with a detour along Ind. 25 and Ind. 16. The cross streets will remain open during the project.
• Jennifer Tangeman is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or jennifer.tangeman@pharostribune.com.
