Cline Avenue bridge operations building in East Chicago to go up in spring

The ground breaking will be off of Riley Road near the bridge and open to the public, Copeland said. Linda Figg, CEO of the FIGG Group, will attend along with local elected officials and others.

The FIGG Group, of Tallahassee, Florida, owns the right of way to the Cline Avenue bridge, which was demolished in 2013. The bridge was condemned in 2009 after engineers found it to be gravely weakened.

The Indiana Department of Transportation subsequently turned the right of way over to the FIGG Group in a land swap.

The new bridge will be entirely financed by FIGG Group’s business partners. It has an expected cost of between $150 and $250 million. Once open, tolls are expected to be between $2.25 to $3.50 for automobiles.

The building of the bridge has been subject to numerous delays over the years, with plans to begin building in the spring of 2013 never materializing.