The Cline Avenue Bridge may be new, but its history is tied to one of Indiana’s deadliest construction disasters.
Built as part of the new State Route 912 expressway, construction began in 1979 along a 5.7-mile corridor that largely followed the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line. On April 15, 1982, a ramp under construction near the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal collapsed during concrete pouring. A second section failed minutes later, killing 14 workers in all. Investigators later found multiple design and construction failures, including an inadequately supported shoring tower and undocumented changes to key structural connections. Despite the tragedy, the project moved forward, and the Cline Avenue Bridge opened in October 1983. In 1987, the route between U.S. Route 12 and the Indiana Toll Road was designated the Highway Construction Workers Memorial Highway.
The original Cline Avenue Bridge remained in service until November 13, 2009, when severe corrosion forced its closure. The Indiana Department of Transportation determined that the bridge had deteriorated too badly to justify a conventional replacement, and the structure was eventually demolished by 2013. Under a public-private partnership, a new tolled crossing was developed in its place.
Construction formally began in 2016, though environmental issues delayed major work until 2017. The present Cline Avenue Bridge opened on December 23, 2020, at a cost of $140 million. It is a 1.7-mile-long precast segmental box-girder bridge built with 28 concrete piers and 685 post-tensioned segments.
