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Dubois County to apply for INDOT bridge safety funds; county closes Bridge 21 for six‑week replacement
Summary
County engineers will submit an INDOT Bridge Safety Improvement application covering dozens of bridges and immediately closed Bridge 21 (CR 200 W) for a six‑week beam and deck replacement; officials also plan to request a $650,000 appropriation for Bridge 78 rehabilitation.
The Dubois County Highway Department on Nov. 3 moved to pursue federal safety funds and began an immediate replacement of a deteriorated bridge.
Highway Engineer Levi Leffert told commissioners that INDOT opened a Notice of Funding Availability (Nov. 3–Dec. 5, 2025) for Bridge Safety Improvement projects, including a 90/10 match. Leffert said he will instruct Lochmueller to prepare an application to seek safety improvements for about 50–60 county bridges; "a motion was made to apply, was duly seconded, and carried." The Council signed a Letter of Financial Commitment required for the application.
Leffert also reported that Bridge 21, the 60‑year‑old superstructure on CR 200 W over Little Creek, will be closed starting Nov. 3 to replace steel beams and the concrete deck, add scour protection and raise the bridge roughly 10 inches to allow for a smooth roadway transition. He said the work is expected to last six weeks and that "there will be no thru traffic." He warned that roadway approaches must be raised to meet the new bridge elevation.
Looking ahead, Leffert previewed other bridge work: Bridge 116 (CR 820 E) will have its superstructure replaced with steel beams and a concrete deck with work anticipated to begin in December. For Bridge 78 over the Patoka River, design work by American Structurepoint is nearly complete and Leffert requested approval to ask the County Council for an additional appropriation of $650,000 in Cumulative Bridge funds; the board agreed to move forward with the request for consideration at the County Council meeting in November.
The actions signal an accelerated county bridge program to address aging structures and to seek federal safety dollars that would leverage local funds.
