Little history- The previous bridge in that spot was taken down b/c of serious flaws and safety issues in 2009. It was literally days from coming down. Back in 1981, 14 workers were killed when a 2 sections collapsed during construction. Spec revision” never documented, replaced bolts with substandard friction clips on bedding was cause of collapse.
Site of bridge is a swamp: Piers have to be sunk 300’plus for anchor. Then bridge is 80’-120 above ground giving a panoramic view of East Chicago harbor, Arcelor Mittal Steel, and BP Refinery
Also 2.50$ toll for 30-40K cars/day based on previous bridge traffic. That will drop to 5000 cars/day if they are lucky. Options are 1)pay 2.50$ to save 10-15 min or 2) slog thru current traffic in area.
Also, giving toll money to East Chicago and Lake County Democrat machine: What possibly can go wrong?
I have lived around here for quite a while, but never drove on that bridge. I see the now-closed entrance to it on Calumet Avenue in Hammond. I always wondered where it went. A few years ago, a driver found out where it went when she followed her GPS and ignored the CLOSED sign and drove off where the bridge used to be.
That toll is steep, and would seem to be a disincentive to using the new bridge. It’s only half of the toll for cars on the Chicago Skyway, but in a way it’s worse because there other other ways to get around.
I thought I read that the company building this is the same one that built the pedestrian bridge that collapsed in Florida.