The situation involving the closed North Mineral Springs Road Bridge in Porter is an unusual one that Porter County Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North, says happens about once a decade.
Biggs refers to it as “all the stars aligning,” but not in a favorable way.
A resolution is coming as Porter County officials will soon solicit bids with construction scheduled to start this summer. The county government is financing construction of the bridge that will cost millions and could be finished late this year or in early 2026.
“If I could wave a wand, the bridge would have been open a year ago,” Biggs said,
It all started with the emergency closing of the bridge just south of U.S. 20, prompted by a Dec. 1, 2023, inspection that revealed the steel support beams were seriously deteriorated.
“The lack of warning wasn’t pleasant,” said Michael Barry, the town of Porter’s development director/building superintendent.
The closing directly impacted the Spring House Inn complex, which is south of the bridge. The complex includes an inn, Uno Pizzeria & Grill restaurant, a bar and banquet facilities.
“Oh big time,” says Vishal Patel, the owner, when asked about the financial impact of the bridge closing on his business.
Patel said he has lost 25% of his revenue since the bridge closing, the majority from the restaurant operation.
The Spring House Inn property can be accessed from Beam Street and there are detour signs posted. Porter town officials even had a banner posted from a pedestrian bridge over U.S. 20 to inform motorists.
However, Patel believes that visitors to the Indiana Dunes National and State parks, who are traveling on U.S. 20, choose other options because they are unfamiliar with the local roads.
Patel is grateful that the bridge is being built, but he will again miss potential revenue with this year’s summer season.
Jim Biggs
Mike Jabo inherited the North Mineral Springs Road Bridge situation when he took over as executive director of the Porter County Department of Development and Storm Water Management in January 2024.
The bridge had been identified years ago as needing eventual replacement.
Porter County had obtained some federal funds and the plan was for construction to occur in 2026 or 2027. But then the Dec. 1, 2023, inspection disrupted those plans.
“Safety to the public is always No. 1,” Jabo said. There was an imminent danger of a heavy vehicle causing the bridge to collapse into the Little Calumet River.
If Porter County had proceeded with the plan to build the bridge with federal dollars, construction couldn’t be started until 2026.
Jabo said that Porter County tries to leverage as much federal money as it can because there are many bridges that need to be replaced.
For instance, the federal government paid for 80% of the cost of replacing the Waverly Road bridge over the Little Calumet River in Porter last year. The bridge cost $2.5 million.
An environmental study was required for the new North Mineral Springs Road bridge and the federal government would also have wanted a historical impact study because a driveway has to be relocated at the bridge’s southern end.
The bridge’s design also calls for it to be higher than the present span over the Little Calumet River.
Porter County Commissioners decided to expedite the project by foregoing federal dollars and financing the project on its own.
“We are doing everything we possibly can,” Biggs said.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
