The Interstate 64 Ohio River crossing reopened just before midnight Friday, Feb. 17, ending the five-month emergency closing of the Sherman Minton Bridge between Louisville, Ky., and New Albany, Ind. The Indiana Department of Transportation opened the bridge 13 days before the March 1 deadline for Louisville’s Hall Contracting to complete reinforcements to strengthen weight-bearing beams along the span’s lower deck.
Tom Roberts, vice president of Hall Contracting, told the Louisville Courier-Journal his company installed 68,000 bolts and placed about 2.5 million pounds of steel on the bridge in less than 60 days to get the work done ahead of schedule, entitling the company to a $1.3 million bonus. Repairs were estimated to last about six months, but Hall was able to finish in less than four.
“We’ve never been happier to pay a contractor incentive dollars for an ahead-of-schedule performance,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told the Courier-Journal.
