Posey County Commissioners voted Tuesday to accept ownership of the New Harmony Bridge — an aging span that crosses the Wabash River, linking Illinois 14 in White County, Illinois, with Indiana 66 in Posey County. The half-mile long structure, deemed by state bridge inspectors to be unsafe for traffic, has been closed since May 2012.
The three-member commission voted to accept the bridge after being presented petitions and hearing comments from the grass-roots organization "Citizens for Reopening the Harmony Way Bridge." More than 3,000 residents of White and Posey counties signed petitions supporting reopening the bridge.
"It was a very tough decision," said Jim Alsop, one of the three Posey County Commissioners. "I have never been for taking over the bridge. I just think it's a state issue. But our back was against the wall — it was the end of the line for the White County Bridge Commission, so we decided — OK, let's give it a chance."
"They really stepped up to the plate this time," said Linda Henning, a member of the grass-roots group. "The ultimate goal in getting the bridge reopened is to pick up the commerce that was lost when the bridge closed."
"It is our expectation that Posey County will apply for funds to have an independent inspection of the bridge completed," said Mike Egbert, a member of the White County Bridge Commission. "I believe they will be able to make the repairs necessary to reopen the bridge without having to tear it down and start from scratch."
Egbert said the process will include an underwater inspection of the piers and a "critical fracture" inspection of all of the support beams. "Posey County has the ability to seek funds for this type of work — we didn't," Egbert said.
But Jim Clark, another member of the bridge commission, wasn't as optimistic.
"My high hope is that they will tear it down and start over. I just don't see how they can rehab it," he said.
In addition to the bridge itself, the transfer will include about 13 acres owned by the bridge commission in White County and about four acres in Posey County.
Clark added that before the transfer can take place, a complete audit of the bridge's finances must be completed.
"We want to go out with a clean record," Clark said. "We want to make sure all the bills and tax payments are up to date."
About $15,000 is left in the White County Bridge Commission coffers, Clark said. The Bridge Commission voted previously that all assets would be transferred to whoever accepts the bridge.
The 2013 White County property taxes — payable this year — amounting to $5,700 have been paid. Clark hopes with the transfer, no additional taxes will be due for this year's taxes, payable in 2015.
The bridge still generates a small amount of income, despite being closed. The firm that provides natural gas to the residents of New Harmony pays $100 per month for the high-pressure gas line supported by the bridge. An additional $150 per month is paid by the firm that uses the bridge to support fiber optic communication lines into New Harmony.
A liability insurance policy on the bridge, with a premium of $5,000, is due Thursday. With Posey County accepting the bridge, Clark says he does not intend to renew the policy.
Clark has submitted his resignation from the Bridge Commission to officials with the Federal Highway Administration, effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Egbert said he will stay on until ownership has been deeded over to Posey County.
"After that, there's no need for the commission to exist," Egbert said.
With Clark and Egbert's resignation, the three-man commission, which includes David Rice of New Harmony, will no longer exist.
"We hung on as long as we could," Clark said. "We did as much maintenance work as we could ourselves at $9 an hour just to get by. Posey County will be in a much better position to secure money from various sources."
Opened to traffic in December 1930, the bridge was owned originally by the Big Wabash Bridge Co. of Carmi, Ill. The White County Bridge Commission was formed by an act of Congress on April 12, 1941, to "purchase or otherwise acquire from its owners, and to maintain and operate a bridge across the river near the city of New Harmony." The original plan was to offer the bridge to either Illinois or Indiana once the outstanding bonds had been retired.
The bonds were paid off in July 1955, and the White County Bridge Commission offered the structure to both Illinois and Indiana. However, engineers from both states inspected the bridge and disclosed that "the bridge was not in sound structural condition and therefore did not meet the requirements of the statute under which Illinois could acquire such bridges." Officials with Indiana also rejected operation of the bridge.
The bridge was officially closed on May 21, 2012 after a lengthy engineer's inspection revealed the aging span was unsafe for traffic.