Published: July 15, 2008 10:40 pm            

New Walk of Excellence bridge now in place

125-foot long bridge spans Wildcat near Apperson Way

The footbridge from Kokomo Beach to Foster Park was a problem to install, a quarter-inch off, requiring additional bolt holes to be drilled before it could be secured in place.

Not so with the new bridge over the Wildcat Creek, installed Tuesday morning without a hitch.

As a 365-ton crane lifted the 125-foot long bridge in the parking lot east of Central Middle School, a group of city officials looked on.

It took about 30 minutes for a crew from Beatty Construction, Indianapolis, to get the 53,700-pound bridge bolted in place.

As the crane’s straps relaxed, and the bright blue structure spanned the Wildcat Creek, former city parks board president Tom Miklik joined parks superintendent John Martino and current board president John Wiles in a moment of congratulations.

“It finally happened,” Miklik said, watching as Martino cracked a grin.

The crews spent last week driving pilings about 15 feet down into the steep creekbanks, and then pouring 8-foot tall concrete abutments to support the ends of the bridge.

Neighborhood residents stopped to watch Tuesday as the bridge itself, constructed by Minnesota-based firm Con-Tech, arrived on two semi-trailers. The two pieces were bolted together, and the bridge was ready to be lowered into place.

Martino said crews will soon build asphalt ramps at both ends of the bridge, which connects the parking lot off Apperson Way with Kokomo-Center Schools’ Kautz Field on the opposite side.

The bridge is symbolic of progress in a hard-fought battle to obtain state funding for Phase 2 of the city’s Walk of Excellence.

After a six-year battle, the Indiana Department of Transportation awarded a contract on the $1.2 million project in May, and work crews began clearing the path for the new pedestrian bridge that same month.

“It’s been a long time coming, that’s for sure,” Martino said after the contract was awarded. “But when it’s complete, it will be a beautiful urban walk through the south end of downtown, along the Wildcat.”

By November, Beatty is expected to have completed the path, which will feature a boardwalk on the north side of the creek, the pedestrian bridge, and an asphalt path stretching to Waterworks Park along Carter Street.

When Phase 2 is complete, the city will have a path linking Miller-Highland Park, Foster Park, the Kautz Field area south of Memorial Gym (dubbed “Future Park” by city officials) and Waterworks.

To get to this point, however, city officials, starting in the Trobaugh administration, had to endure six years of bureaucratic red tape from INDOT.

Because of the delay in acquiring the state Transportation Enhancement Grant, the state is pledging an extra $100,000 toward the project, to be used for any contingencies, and possibly to add a looping pathway around Kautz Field, Martino said.

Local Rotarians were also instrumental to the project, donating $30,000 toward the pedestrian bridge.

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com

        

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