NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) — Construction is now underway on the long-awaited replacement of the Blackiston Mill Bridge, with crews making noticeable progress on a project that's been in the works since 2017.
Heavy equipment is moving back and forth across Silver Creek as crews reshape the area for the new bridge. Officials expect a large portion of the bridge to be finished this fall.
More than 20,000 drivers use the Blackiston Mill Bridge each day. The current bridge reopened last summer after being shut down for several months due to the dam underneath it failing.
The sudden change in water flow chewed away part of the embankment and eventually collapsed a portion of the roadway into Silver Creek, leaving a massive hole and forcing the bridge to close until late July 2025.
Because the structure was compromised, crews removed the dam after the county received the necessary permits, using the broken concrete and stone to rebuild the eroded embankments before work on the replacement bridge could move forward.
The project has been years in the making. Floyd County Commissioner Al Knable described the effort to "align everything to get a new bridge" as a lengthy process.
The new bridge is being built about 150 yards upstream from the existing bridge. It will have wider roads, pedestrian sidewalks and will be elevated higher than the current bridge to avoid flooding.
For nearby businesses, the replacement can't come soon enough.
"When this bridge closed, my business goes down," said the owner of a nearby auto repair shop.
The current bridge is expected to remain open for most of construction. County officials have previously said drivers should expect a 60-day closure next summer, but not this summer.
Once traffic is shifted onto the new bridge, the existing bridge will be demolished. The entire project is expected to be finished by October 2027.
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