Clarksville decides to rethink bridge project

Clark County

Discussion

February 7, 2012

Drainage issues, safety are concerns

By JEROD CLAPP Jerod.Clapp@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Tue Feb 07, 2012, 11:23 PM EST

CLARKSVILLE — Re-evaluation of removing the Lewis and Clark Parkway overpass at Brown’s Station Way could begin soon, after the Clarksville Town Council voted to renegotiate the project with the Indiana Department of Transportation at its meeting Monday night.

Instead of tearing down the bridge, the council will try to make a proposal to INDOT to refurbish the bridge. The vote came in at 5-2, with council members Bob Popp and Paul Fetter voting against the measure.

John Gilkey, town council president, said in an interview after the meeting that renovating and beautifying the bridge could be more cost-effective and still allow the town to take advantage of the $4 million the state is putting up for the project.

“Hopefully, we can do something really impressive with rebuilding that bridge as part of the project and leaving it in place,” Gilkey said. “We might be able to do something like [Columbus’ bridge on I-65] and make it a signature piece, work on some signage and make it a gateway for people to exit and head down Lewis and Clark Parkway to do some shopping.”

Residents and business owners brought concerns about drainage issues around the bridge and how eliminating it could compound those issues, as well as concerns about bringing a traffic light to that stretch of road.

“Anytime you have a traffic light, you have a built-in safety concern,” Gilkey said after the meeting. “Sooner or later, someone’s going to go through it. The police chief, Mark Palmer, indicated to me that he had concerns about going from the overpass to a four-way stop for the very same reason.”

After the meeting, Fetter said he thought the project was fine as it stood, especially since the city has been planning it for years.

“I didn’t think we needed to renegotiate it,” Fetter said. “What we’ve got essentially between Jeffersonville and New Albany is a bypass through Clarksville. You want to develop that into Lewis and Clark and removing that bypass would be essential, in my mind.”

Gilkey said he thought renegotiating the project would give the city a better chance of coming in under budget because removal of the floodwall wouldn’t be a part of the project. He said the city has to pay 20 percent of whatever the total project will cost as long as it costs less than $4 million. The town will still have to pay for all architectural and design services.

But Gilkey said he thought instead of paying about $1.5 million or $2 million, the city could keep design costs at about $1 million.

Gilkey said Jorge Lanz, engineer, will be out of town starting in the middle of the month, but hopes the negotiations with INDOT can begin by the end of February or the beginning of March.