Drilling to Reach Bedrock Underway in Utica Area
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 dotted line shows the path of the new-terrain highway, which will serve as an
extension of IN-265 as the approach to the new East End Bridge. Geotechnical work
is underway to determine bedrock depths.
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."
The East End Indiana Approach will serve as an extension of IN-265 (Lee Hamilton
Highway) from IN-62, where it currently terminates, to the new East End Bridge.
This section will add a new six-lane highway stretching approximately four miles
and will feature:
- The addition of a new, full interchange at Old Salem Road
- Reconstruction of the IN-265/IN-62/Port Road interchange
- Improvements to Utica-Sellersburg Road near the new highway
Roadway construction for this section is expected to begin in 2010 with completion
targeted for 2014. The total cost is estimated at $318 million. Burgess & Niple
of Indianapolis is the engineering firm designing the Indiana approach to the East
End Bridge.
This is the first time geotechnical work has taken place in the Utica area in association
with the Bridges Project. Geotechnical work has taken place in eastern Jefferson
County, Kentucky and the Spaghetti Junction area in downtown Louisville.
The Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project addresses the long-term,
cross-river transportation needs for the region. In 2003, the Federal Highway Administration,
Indiana Department of Transportation and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet agreed
that the only feasible way to meet cross-river transportation needs was to rebuild
the Kennedy Interchange in downtown Louisville and construct two new bridges - one
in downtown, the other in the East End. Of a variety of options studied, the alternatives
selected best achieve the transportation needs with the least amount of impact on
environmental resources and the communities. The estimated cost of the entire project
is $4.1 billion (which takes into account inflation). For more information on the
project, visit www.kyinbridges.com