Three bridges along some of Johnson County’s most traveled roads will be repaved this summer.
The projects will close lanes in some areas, and close roads in others.
The first of three projects will begin in August when a bridge on U.S. 31, just a quarter-mile south of State Road 252, is repaved, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. About 6,400 cars pass over Big Blue River on that bridge every day, according to INDOT.
Work on that bridge does not yet have a start-to-finish timetable, INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity said. Traffic will be narrowed to one lane during the project and then shifted to another lane as work is completed on one side and begins on another, Maginity said.
About a half-mile east of U.S. 31 the same repaving work will be done along State Road 252, which has about 4,230 cars drive over it each day. The road will close for 14 days beginning on or after Sep. 1, Maginity said.
Alternate routes and detours have not been decided.
A bridge on State Road 44 also will be closed. About 1,600 cars that use the bridge just west of State Road 135 to travel over Prong Stotts Creek every day will need to find a different route for about two weeks. Detours have also not been determined for that work, Maginity said.
All three projects will cost the state about $465,000, according to INDOT.
This summer, crews also will be repaving U.S. 31 between Greenwood and Franklin and State Road 37, all while construction on Interstate 65 continues.
INDOT officials know that multiple projects will cause delays and congestion, Maginity said. But the work that’s being done is necessary, he said.
“This is preventative work. The idea is to repair these bridges before they actually really need it,” Maginity said.
