Moving the State Line Bridge might seem like low-hanging fruit for reducing the flooding on the Kankakee River, but it’s not a simple task.
“It sounds easy. It’s going to be complicated,” said Scott Pelath, executive director of the Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission.
The low-hanging bridge collects debris easily and isn’t easily accessible for cleaning up logjams.
“I’ve been down there in waders before. It’s not something I want to get in the habit of,” Pelath said. Fortunately, there’s now a camera in place to monitor conditions along the bridge.
Pelath gave the commission an update on the long-awaited bridge removal project.
“We’re in a good place,” he said, with the bridge likely to be removed in 2026.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ historic preservation officer agrees the bridge needs to be moved, and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said the commission doesn’t need to mitigate the half-acre wetland affected by the bridge’s removal.
“IDEM said they’re good with replanting the trees there afterward,” Pelath said.
That saves the commission about $30,000.
Removing the bridge requires clearing about a half-acre on either side of the river and creating a temporary causeway for a pair of cranes, on each side of the river, to lift the bridge and set it on the Lake County side. Then it will be disassembled in preparation for being reassembled elsewhere, most likely at a park where the bridge’s history can be interpreted for visitors.
State Line Bridge is just one of the problematic bridges along the river.
The 3-I Bridge, Pelath said, is another troublemaker when it comes to flooding. “I think in some ways it’s worse than the State Line Bridge,” Pelath said.
Removing that Newton County bridge will be costly. The bank will need to be strengthened to put equipment in place.
Pelath said he recommends breaking the project into digestible phases to ease the financial pain.
“There’s been a lot of sediment build-up under the bridge,” he said, so the commission might remove the sediment first to make the rest of the project easier.
Pelath also briefed the commission on a bayou at Shady Shores, a small Lake County neighborhood where most houses are so old they sit on the commission’s easement.
Standing water in the bayou can be a health hazard, allowing mosquitoes to breed, he said.
Pelath suggested removing a bit of the sediment that has built up, so there’s moving water instead of stagnant water there.
“It’s a small project, but I think it will be a service to the community,” he said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.