Good News for Muncie

A friend shared good news for our fair city on Facebook this evening. On Friday of this week, a rebuilt bridge opens!  Hip, hip hooray!  Now I, and other drivers, will have a straight shot to places we want to be.

photo by Scrappy Grams

Ribbon Cutting Scheduled for West Jackson Street Bridge

Submitted by kpaul.mallasch on Mon, 09/10/2012 - 12:23pm. 

• Local
 
• News
 
• Delaware County
 
• Government
 
• Muncie
 
• Transportation

Staff Report

MUNCIE, IN - The West Jackson Bridge over White River in Muncie, Ind., which has been closed since September 12, 2011, has been removed and replaced. The newly constructed bridge, which is estimated to carry over 12,000 vehicles per day, will reopen to the public at the culmination of a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the Delaware County project’s completion, on Friday, September 14 at 8 a.m.

Delaware County Commissioners awarded the engineering contract for the West Jackson Bridge replacement to Indianapolis-based American Structurepoint in 2010. Working closely with the Commissioners, the City of Muncie, and Cardinal Greenway, design engineers American Structurepoint and contractor Beaty Construction, Inc., comprised the project team who created the 55’-6” wide, 275-foot long bridge. Due to funding availability, this LPA project was completed in just 12 months, more than two years quicker than most projects of this magnitude.

“The Jackson Street Bridge is one of the best total rebuilds we have experienced with regards to moving from planning to communication to construction,” says Todd R.Donati, president of the Delaware County Commissioners.

“Everyone was on board with how traffic and utilities would be routed. Our appreciation goes out to Marta Moody, executive director of the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission, American Structurepoint, Beaty Construction, Angie Moyer, project director/administrator of the Delaware County Engineering Department, and most of all, the patience of the community as we transitioned this total replacement to a beautiful and remarkable bridge.”

The West Jackson Bridge features new traffic signals at the intersection, a sidewalk on the north side, decorative railing on both sides of the bridge — similar to the High Street Bridge, and a multi-use path on the south side with two overlooks, as well as handrail and ornamental lighting.  The multi-use path provides a river crossing for pedestrian and bicycle traffic and acts as a trail connector to the White River Greenway, which is part of the Cardinal Greenways, the longest rail-trail in Indiana.

Presentations during the ribbon cutting will be made by Commissioner Todd Donati, with comments from Council President James King, Mayor Dennis Tyler of the City of Muncie and others.