Indianapolis Blvd. Bridge

"Hammond Bridge" / "Gibson Railroad Yard Bridge"

Most Recent Visit To Bridge: August 11, 2006

Visit Historic Bridges of The U.S.'s Page For This Historic Bridge

Visit INDOT's Bridge Marketing Page For This Bridge

This Bridge is In Danger Of Demolition!

This extremely long bridge has a length comparable to Ohio River bridges such as Ohio's Market Street Bridge. It is also a wide truss bridge, apparently originally a four-lane structure. Today it has two lanes, a bike lane on the east side, and a small shoulder on the west side. This bridge does not achieve its long length via some complex cantilever span, but instead utilizes many classic Parker through truss spans instead. They feature riveted connections. The railings on the bridge appear to be original. There is extensive v-lacing and lattice present on the bridge, although some members feature battens instead. I found Inland steel stamps on the bridge. The bridge is composed of nine spans of varying size. Although the spans at each end of the bridge appear normal, the remaining seven spans in between have a skew to them that resulted in some bizarre cooked portal designs that give this bridge a distinctive appearance. The result is a bridge whose skewed spans are individually interesting, but combined form a bridge that is both unusual, and is a also a monumental-sized landmark for Hammond. This bridge can be seen from the Indiana Tollway as you head toward Illinois, sweeping across the rail yard. Much of the rail yard appears to be abandoned today, and the bridge simply passes over field for much of the distance. The bridge is so long, and has a slight curve to the deck, that you cannot see the other end of the bridge when you first start to cross it. The bridge is a thrill to walk or drive across.

Indiana probably wants to demolish this bridge not just because they feel it is outdated and falling apart, but also because much of it doesn't even cross anything but a field anymore. Despite this, I feel the structure is important to preserve as a whole in its original location because it is such a large structure and impressive to the eye, and also has historic value. Whether they restore it or replace it, a fair amount of money is going to be spent on the bridge due to its size. Replacement would however incur additional costs for removing such a large structure. Often, replacing a bridge costs more than restoring it! Why not save demolition costs and use this money towards preserving this historic landmark? Another interesting option that could be considered is to place fill under the spans of the bridge that serve no purpose anymore. In other words, simply allow the trusses to rest on dirt, so that people could continue to enjoy the tunnel-effect as they drove across the bridge, but INDOT would not have to worry about the bridge supporting anything. This might look dumb from a side view, and affect historic integrity, but to people driving across the bridge the change would be undetectable. It certainly would be better than replacing this bridge with either nothing but dirt or replacing it with an ugly slab bridge.

Despite the beauty, history, and inviting alternatives I have suggested above, INDOT wants to replace this bridge. Much like Pennsylvania does, INDOT uses a bridge marketing program as a path to easily replace bridges, and relieve themselves of responsibility for preserving historic bridges. The idea is to offer doomed bridges to third parties for relocation and restoration in a new location. This is a poor way to manage this nation's rich assortment of historic bridges, because few individuals or small organizations are going to be able to choke up the money required to not only restore but relocate a bridge as well. The point of government is to undertake projects that benefit the general public and may cost too much for individuals to undertake (like building expressways for example or building a public school system). I personally feel that bridge preservation is something that should be government funded. When I see all the outlandish things the federal government wastes taxpayer money on, bridge preservation is actually a very reasonable thing for governments to fund. The other problem with bridge marketing is that when a bridge is relocated, a great deal of historic value is lost. Some bridges may lose the ability to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places if they are relocated.

There is one other problem with bridge marketing, particularly with the Indianapolis Blvd. Bridge. Just take a look at the bridge. What bike trail or back yard is going to have the room for this bridge?! How and where on earth is someone going to move this bridge to? Like some guy is going to email INDOT and tell them he is going to throw the bridge up over the Ohio River that happens to run through his backyard! I suppose that someone might decide to move part of the bridge, in other words one or two of the spans. But even that is stupid, because what makes this bridge so interesting is its length. The bridge needs to be whole to be appreciated. Sure, the skewed spans would be interesting on their own, but think of how much less interesting they would be compared to the monstrosity seen in Hammond today. Another point. Even a single span would be a large undertaking for a individual or organization to undertake. The individual spans themselves are of fair length, and plus they are four-lanes wide! A bridge this wide is not going to fit well on a rail-trail, plus its width makes it larger and more costly to move. In the end, INDOTs bridge marketing plan reflects INDOT's lack of genuine interest in the beauty of their state and also their lack of concern for transportation heritage.

I predict that this bridge will be completely demolished, unfortunately. Perhaps someone might claim one of the spans, but I doubt it. The bridge deserves to be restored in place. Hammond is an industrial city, and this bridge is one of the few elements of beauty in the area, and so it is important to the landscape. In addition, even from a statewide perspective, this is one of the finest bridges in Indiana, and its loss will be felt for generations.

Be sure to check my photo gallery. I have a ton of photos for this bridge, sorted into separate galleries by catagory.