NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) — Construction is expected to begin soon on the new Blackiston Mill Bridge in southern Indiana.

The current bridge reopened last summer after being shut down for several months due to the dam underneath it failing.

The sudden change in water flow chewed away part of the embankment and eventually collapsed a portion of the roadway into Silver Creek, leaving a massive hole and forcing the bridge to close.

It was a time workers at A Nice Restaurant in New Albany said was tough.

"Our business kind of suffered a little bit because we have a lot of people that come from Clarksville and Jeff and they would always come that way. Now that it's open our business has picked up," said A Nice Restaurant cook Pamela Wood.

Floyd County Commissioner Al Knable said building a new bridge has been in the works since 2017, "trying to align everything to get a new bridge is very, very difficult."

Now almost 10 years later it's becoming a reality. Trees were cleared for equipment, and crews are expected to begin working in two to four weeks.

The new bridge will have wider roads, pedestrian sidewalks and it will be elevated higher than the current bridge to avoid flooding. 

Knable said for the majority of the project the current bridge will stay open.

He added there will be a 60-day closure next summer but wants to let drivers know that closure will not be this summer and will not be going on at the same time as the I-65 shutdown.

The entire project is expected to be finished by October 2027.

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