Thinking Outside the Box at INDOT’s Myra Lane Bridge

Great ideas aren’t forged in a vacuum, and the Myra Lane bridge over I-69 in Morgan County, Indiana is a testament to the innovation born when keen minds put their heads together. INDOT and CDM Smith worked together to bring safe and more efficient transportation solutions to life in the sixth and final section of the “I-69 Finish Line” grand roadway revamp, winning an ACEC Indiana Merit Award as a result. 

CDM Smith came prepared to think strategically with INDOT, exercising the team’s knowledge in transportation and bridge design, ITS corridor design, public engagement, and stakeholder coordination to tackle project tasks within the southern half of Section 6.2, from just north of Martinsville, Indiana to Clear Creek. The entire contract encompassed over four miles of new interstate alignment and construction, over five miles of local access road construction, one interchange, two mainline bridge crossings, four local road bridge crossings, and multiple minor stream crossings.

In Section 6.2, the team was presented with an opportunity to apply strategy and innovation to think outside of the box for INDOT. Our trans­porta­tion experts streamlined what was originally proposed as two different bridge structures on I-69 over Myra Lane into a single cost-saving, envi­ron­men­tally conscious design. Myra Lane serves both Ozark Fisheries and an active local church in Martinsville, Indiana, and the team ensured stakeholder priorities were top of mind as they developed this new design. 

As two different bridge structures were initially scoped in the project, the team proposed a cost-saving alternative by lowering the I-69 profile to allow the local service road to cross over I-69. By taking a think-outside-of-the-box approach when investigating the design concept early on, the team was able to minimize impacts to three local fishponds within Ozark Fisheries, ensure safe transportation to the local church, and limit future maintenance costs and inspections for INDOT.

The original dual structure scope required significant amounts of borrow material (soil brought from a different area for construc­tion purposes) but gathering this borrow would impact the three fishponds in Ozark Fisheries. In addition, the two bridges would not only cost INDOT more up front, but the future maintenance costs were also a factor. These elements informed CDM Smith’s multi­dis­ci­pli­nary team on the best plan of attack for the project’s current design. 

Both Ozark Fisheries and the church were involved during the design and construc­tion of the new structure, and a dedication ceremony, hosted by the church, was held for the Myra Lane overpass bridge in August of 2022 to highlight the improved safety and access the new structure would allow. "Managing this project was a privilege," said Beau Gentry, bridge discipline lead and project manager. "This project not only resonated positively within the local community, but also achieved resounding success in the eyes of our client."

In total, the entire I-69 connection between Evansville and Indi­anapo­lis, Indiana, is a $2 billion program and incor­po­rates more than 26 miles of new interstate highway, over 35 lane-miles of new local access roads, 39 new bridges and 35 existing bridges.