Indiana Rail Road unveils new White River Bridge

The Indiana Rail Road Co. (INRD) officials late last week were joined by U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.) and Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann to mark the opening of the railroad’s new White River Bridge.

The new steel-girder, pre-stressed concrete bridge is located two miles north of Elnora, Ind. The structure, which will handle trains at 40 mph and maximum rail-car loads of 286,000 pounds, replaces a previous pin-connected truss bridge built in 1899. The old bridge restricted train speed to 10 mph because of its age, INRD officials said in a press release.

INRD serves southeast Indiana customers through its Odon Transload Facility, a rail-to-truck transfer facility near the Interstate 69-State Road 58 interchange. The Indiana Southern Railroad (ISRR) also uses the bridge to link the north and south segments of its Indianapolis-Evansville route, they said.

The project was funded in part by a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. The Indiana Department of Transportation and the offices of Donnelly and Bucshon were "instrumental" in helping the railroad to secure the funds, railroad officials said. INRD, ISRR and a host of shippers also made significant capital investments, they said.

INRD President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Mills said the new bridge makes numerous business development opportunities possible for the railroad, as well as the region.

"With a combination of superior customer service and aggressive co-marketing of the region with our local partners, we can bring a lot of opportunities for growth," he said.