Traffic is once again moving over the Blackiston Mill Bridge, a main connection between Clarksville and New Albany that’s been closed for nearly six months.
Floyd County officials reopened the bridge just after noon Friday, after shoring up repairs and inspections. They closed the connection in early February after a nearby dam failed, causing damage to one of the approaches.
“I'm the happiest man in Floyd County,” Floyd County Commissioners President Al Knable said just before cars were again allowed to cross. He said when the dam failed, “I thought there was a better chance than not that we would never reopen this.”
Knable was joined by Commissioner Jason Sharp and Floyd County Council President Danny Short.
Part of the work to reopen the bridge included taking out the Blackiston Mill dam nearby, the failure of which caused erosion under the road connecting to the bridge on the Clarksville side. Crews took the dam out earlier this month.
Repair crews also extended guardrails, repainted and resurfaced and made some modifications to steel plates. Those cover defects in the road bed and will remain, as Knable said removing them and repairing the damage below would have added half a million dollars to this project.
“Is she pretty? You know, maybe not conventionally, but to me [and] I'm sure to Councilman Short and to Commissioner Sharp and the 20,000 people that use this every day, she's beautiful,” Knable said.
The structure also had to pass inspections from the Floyd County engineer and Indianapolis-based firm United Consulting Engineers, and Knable said their reports show it’s safe.
“I’m going to be traveling this road. My family is going to be traveling this road,” he said.
Knable said motorcycle users and new drivers should take care going over the steel plates, especially in bad weather.
Floyd County didn’t own the dam when it failed, nor the property around it. Knable said the county got control in May and promptly applied for permits for removal and bridge repairs.
Sharp said local leaders recognize the inconvenience caused by not having the bridge for residents and nearby businesses.
“We wanted to make sure that when the dam eroded and gave way and started creating damage to the approach that…we would have everything put together and in place to make sure that the structure remains safe,” he said.
Repairing the aging bridge was a temporary solution to allow traffic to pass through until a new bridge is built around 150 yards away. Bids for construction are expected to go out in the fall.
That new bridge, which was already planned when the existing bridge had to close, is estimated to cost around $8 million dollars, with the federal government paying for 80%. It’s expected to be finished in 2028.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
