Changing river path endangers usefulness of Bartholomew bridge

Bartholomew County could soon have a useless bridge in the southern part of the county, as East Fork White River continues to move its flow to a new channel.

Bartholomew County Commissioners discussed the recent flooding on the river during their meeting Monday morning. Commissioners accepted bids to resurface the bridge between State Road 11 and U.S. 31 near Azalea on County Road 800S.

Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz pointed out that the existing channel is getting filled with silt and they anticipate the flow will soon move to a permanent new location. Kleinhenz said that the recent flooding clearly showed the river’s future flow with a pronounced oxbow shaped bend already occurring that will eventually be cut across by the new channel.

County Engineer Danny Hollander said that the state has refused requests to clean the channel. The only action the county is allowed to do, is to continue to dump concrete debris along the river to armor the bank to try to reduce the movement. He pointed out that the ground is all sand in the area.

Commissioners pointed out that when a new bridge is needed, the cost will be several million dollars.

Commissioners took the bids for the bridge work under advisement. They also approved funding for the annual inspection of county bridges with United Consulting. The four -year contract is for just over $74 7 thousand dollars but the county is reimbursed for 80 percent of the cost.

Photo: Recent flooding on County Road 800S courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.