Olio Bridge on I-69 @ Exit 10: Update w/ More
Olio Road South Approach, Nikon D700 w/ Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 (click to enlarge)
By now some of you readers may be asking, "What kind of message are you trying to send Curt? You moan and preach about promoting rail transportation in Indianapolis yet here you are posting all kinds of photos about a suburban freeway bridge?" Ah, and you would be right. While at the heart I may not philosophically agree with all of this going on in the suburbs, there is a point. And if you follow the goings on in Indy one can still make a strong case for improving the outlying road infrastructure. I mean, how else are people going to get to those park and rides? 
I thought I would tie a couple of things together with this post. Last fall, I wrote a post about the bridge construction going on northeast of Indianapolis on I69 in the area of exit 10. More famously known for the music venue (Verizon Wireless Music Center), it has experienced a development explosion over the last decade. To assist the increased traffic flow and help to route through traffic around the new Hamilton Town Center, the bridge was put into place. It will also serve a growing medical park along the south (or east depending on your perspective) side of the road.
Olio Road North Approach, Nikon D700 w/ Nikkor 20-35 f2.8 (click to enlarge)
Since the weather has broke, I was able to make it back out and snap a few photos courtesy of permission by the Project Superintendent, Jason Coffey. I was able to nab these in great light and good weather thanks to spring finally breaking us out of the real Indiana winter we experienced. Construction, as you can imagine, slowed. However, it did not stop and they have been moving forward swiftly thanks to a dedicated schedule and also, as I learned, thanks to the rapid construction methods allowed by the type of materials they are using.
North Approach Taking Shape, Nikon D700 w/ Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 (click to enlarge)
Worker testing soil composition, Nikon D700 w/ Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 (click to enlarge)
The first thing that grabs one as they see this overpass is that it is not just another rural freeway overpass using an earthen approach-way. They have a sort of reinforced concrete retaining wall using what looks like fixed panels linked together. The manufacturing method is based upon those pushed by Reinforced Earth, the company responsible for engineering and manufacturing said panels for the construction. Indeed, looking at their website, they have been involved in literally hundreds if not thousands of new or improving infrastructure projects. The current reconstruction of 465 on the NE side of Indy also appears to be using the same method in the revamp of the new overpasses being constructed. I have been invited back out to the site the first week of April in the evening hours. That is when they will be setting beams for the roadway. My son to be is due on March 28th though, so it's likely I won't make that occasion, even as exciting as it would be.
Reinforced Earth in action, Nikon D700 w/ Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 (click to enlarge)
I explored the Reinforced Earth website and saw that they have a dedicated railway structures portion and you know I wouldn't be me if I didn't check it out and wonder how a compact bridge design such as this would fit into the context of the proposed rail improvements for the Indy area. In my NE Corridor series, I wondered about how they are going to handle the bridge over fall creek. Last week I also posted about how I saw that they were going to stop high frequency service in the 38th street area and I couldn't help but wonder if this was because of that same bridge. Why stop at 38th street, when the dense area of Broad Ripple lay a short distance further north? Is it because of the state of the bridge? Is it because construction could be difficult in the Fall Creek rail bridge area?
Fall Creek Bridge 3d Aerial View (Click for expanded aerial view)
To that end, I applied the Reinforced Earth bridge engineering to this area of study and came up with a thought. They could easily use this type of construction to remove the rail that is there now, preserve the Fall Creek Trail which is already there and which already uses a small retaining wall to hold back the rail line. This seems like a good compromise for an area that may prove difficult and expensive using traditional construction methods. It also gives a good suggestion for us, as citizens, to bring to the attention of the planners so that we can lobby for dual rail (and hopefully all day)service further north to AT LEAST the Broad Ripple if not the Binford & 71st area; which also has rail at the heart of it's future redevelopment vision.
