Nearly three years after the sudden closure of the N. Mineral Springs Road bridge, the road with a new $2.44 million span was to reopen Friday afternoon south of U.S. 20 in Porter.
No one is happier about the news than Vishal Patel, the owner of the Spring House Inn complex, which includes an Uno’s Pizzeria, a bar and banquet facilities.
When the old bridge over the East Branch of the Little Calumet River suddenly closed on Dec. 1, 2023, due to rusted, deteriorating beams, the road closure cut off the complex’s main access from U.S. 20.
Patel said his restaurant lost revenue, especially during three summer seasons, because visitors to the Indiana Dunes parks were unfamiliar with the detour on Beam Street.
The town of Porter tried to help by hanging a banner from the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 20, informing motorists about the detour. But it was to no avail.
“Next year I hope it will be better and I recoup this money,” Patel said.
The sudden closure of the bridge had taken Porter County officials by surprise. Originally, the county was going to use federal dollars to replace the old bridge with the plan to build it by 2027.
Instead, to speed up the process, the county financed the $2.44 million bridge replacement on its own.
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There were additional issues, such as obtaining right-of-way and an architectural design for a higher bridge deck above the water.
Another issue that the contractor had to work around was the migration of coho and Chinook salmon in the river between July and November.
Chris D’Antonio, project manager for the Highway Engineering Department, said the project, built by Dunnet Bay Construction, stayed within its budget. Crews were working on the finishing touches, and the traffic barriers were to come down Friday afternoon.
The bridge would have opened sooner if it wasn’t for the Aug. 11 derecho that swept through Northwest Indiana.
D’Antonio said that NIPSCO crews were delayed in performing the scheduled electrical work on the bridge because they were so busy cleaning up after the storm.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.