April 2, 2008 - A drilling rig capable of retrieving soil samples from
as deep as 90-feet below ground will be at work in Southern Indiana this week performing
preparatory work for the Ohio River Bridges Project. "We're searching for bedrock
along the corridor where we will build the new-terrain highway," says Paul
Boone, the Bridges' project manager for the Indiana Department of Transportation.
"This is step one in determining the foundation for the highway that will connect
IN-265 to the new East End Bridge on the Indiana side."
The rig and its crew will be conducting geotechnical work, which involves investigating
the soil and bedrock. Throughout the week, they will be drilling in nine locations
- including the Boulder Creek neighborhood and some difficult-to-reach areas, usually
staying no more than a day at any one location. Each boring will be only about six-inches
in diameter. While the drill is capable of going 90-feet deep, Boone expects to
hit bedrock much sooner. "In some locations, the rock foundation is almost
on the surface, but we'll end up drilling 20 or 30 feet deep in other areas, maybe
deeper," he says. "This investigation is just the beginning and will be
followed up later with more extensive geotechnical work."
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September 2007 - A key component to the planning and design of East End Indiana
Approach Section of the Ohio River Bridges Project is nearing completion. The Swartz
Farm Rural Historic District Preservation Plan will be completed later this year.
The writing of the Historic Preservation Plan (HPP), which is to serve as a guidance
document for project engineers and incorporate Context-Sensitive Design into the
new interstate corridor, is being developed by Kevin Senninger of Ratio Architects
with assistance from the Indiana Historic Preservation Advisory Team (IHPAT).
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June 2006 - Aerial photography of the East End Indiana Approach, completed
in March, will give engineers a framework for topographical surveying in the area.
The photography covers an area about three miles wide and 10 miles long. Limited
topographical surveying has taken place so that the Indiana Department of Transportation
(INDOT) could begin making right-of-way acquisitions. When INDOT completes survey
contract negotiations - possibly by early July - more extensive surveying can begin.
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