Officials from both sides of the Ohio River met in Evansville Thursday for an update on the I-69 Ohio River bridge project. WNIN’s John Gibson was there:
I-69 ORX spokeswoman Mindy Peterson summed up progress on Phase One on the Kentucky side:
"On track to finish on schedule, on budget by late this year. That's what you want from a project like this."
Kentucky Transportation Commissioner Jim Gray told the gathering that when he took the job five years ago, Governor Beshear said he had three main projects:
"I won't tell you all about the other two but at the top of the list was the I-69 ORX."
On the Indiana side, Peterson says construction crews have erected more than 50 giant beams for ramps to the bridge:
"Each beam, a single beam, weighs 100 tons. And they are bringing them in by one large specialized truck. One truck, one beam."
Peterson says crews have the beam deliveries “down to a science.”
Plans call for the nearly $1.4 billion toll bridge to open in 2031.
E-REP Executive Director and former Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke told WNIN News he’s heard lots of questions about the existing Twin Bridges, but:
"We're not really worried about that right now. We are focused in a hyper way about getting the new bridge under construction and really make sure it maintains the timeline that we have."
Tentative plans call for demolishing one of the Twin Bridges and saving the other for local traffic.