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Downtown bridge work on I-65 begins this week

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A 4.6 million dollar project on I-65 begins this week. Crews will be working on the bridge that runs through downtown Indianapolis.

Indiana Department of Transportation representatives said this project will significantly affect overnight traffic. Work will be done between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

On Monday night the northbound I-65 ramps to and from Meridian and Pennsylvania will close until 6:00 a.m. Tuesday.

After that, the ramps will open back up, but crews will shift their work to the bridge.

All northbound lanes of the bridge between Senate and Alabama will close nightly starting Tuesday at 9:00 p.m.

This portion of the project is expected to take two weeks.

A spokesperson with INDOT explained that a complete closure of northbound lanes is needed so crews can seal the bridge joints to keep moisture from permeating the bridge’s steel and concrete which can lead to deterioration.

Concrete pavement will also be repaired during the closure.

“It’s all part of taking care of what we have, preserving our roads and bridges, and making sure that we can keep them in good shape as long as possible to avoid more costly, full replacement construction further down the road,” said Nathan Riggs with INDOT.

Work requiring closures will not take place on Friday or Saturday nights.

INDOT will have signs with detours posted.

If you don’t have a downtown destination, INDOT representatives recommend taking I-465 to avoid the work completely.

After work on the northbound lanes is complete, crews will then start working on the southbound portion of that bridge.