Sherman-Minton bridge closing causes headaches, congestion

The closing of a major Indiana bridge is becoming a headache for both commuters and government officials.

The Sherman-Minton Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River to connect Louisville, Ky., and New Albany, Ind., was suddenly ordered closed Friday by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels after a “concerning crack” was found.

Since then, the more than 80,000 vehicles that normally travel the bridge daily have been diverted to other throughways, sometimes backing traffic up for miles and forcing drivers to change routes and routines.

The 50-year-old bridge is one of just three bridges that cross the Ohio River to connect Southern Indiana to Kentucky. Megan Lynn, a student at IU-Southeast New Albany who lives in Louisville, uses the bridge four days a week to attend class.

“The Sherman-Minton being closed has totally changed my route to school because they have closed off the ramp from I-64 to I-65, which is the way that I have gone for the last year and a half,” Lynn said.

Now, she has to take an alternate route that adds around 10 miles to her commute, Lynn said. In order to avoid traffic, she steers clear of rush hour congestion and has even stayed at a friend’s house in New Albany to get around the morning traffic.

But, as other drivers get similar ideas, even rush hour is altered by the closing.

"Tuesday, I hit a pretty decent amount of traffic at 2:45 p.m., which isn’t typical,” Lynn said, “meaning that rush hour is starting earlier.”

In a statement Tuesday, Republican Todd Young, who represents Indiana’s ninth district that includes New Albany, said despite the increased congestion, Gov. Daniels and the Indiana Department of Transportation made the right decision in closing the bridge.

After the crack was found, structural engineers from both the public and private sectors, as well as from engineering universities, recommended closing the bridge. It is to remain closed indefinitely while more examinations of the bridge are conducted.

“I’m confident that INDOT made the right decision,” Young said. “But this will have a very real impact on traffic and businesses in the region. We want to be able to help any way we can at the federal level to get repairs made quickly and safely so that we can alleviate those concerns.”

Soon after Young released his statement, the Indiana Democratic Party took the opportunity to blast Young for “his lackluster involvement” in the closing of the bridge.

“It sounds to me like Congressman Young wants to play armchair quarterback when he should be in the huddle talking about how to fix a problem that’s directly affecting his constituents,” Party Chair Dan Parker said.

Parker also pointed out a bulletin from the federal government, which discussed previous structural problems with the bridge and urged Young to accept President Obama’s current job plan.

“The closure has caused hours-long traffic backups and may call into question the structural integrity of other nearby bridges,” the party added in a press release.

Traffic is currently re-routed to cross the Ohio River’s two other bridges, the Clark Memorial and the Kennedy, while the bridge remains closed. Even with the increased traffic, there are no current safety concerns with either bridge, officials said.

Back by the Ohio River, Lynn said the closing has been annoying but has remained manageable — so far.

“Ask me how I feel about it in a few weeks, and there will probably be a lot more profanities in my description,” she said.