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Historic Bridge Marketing Program Description

The purpose of this web site is to enhance our historic bridge marketing plan. It is to alert potentially interested parties in the potential availability of historic bridges. Also, it is to determine who may be seriously interested in acquiring a historic bridge. If one is seriously interested in acquiring a historic bridge, then this will aid the existing owner of the bridge in formulating the mitigation for the bridge replacement project.

It is the INDOT and FHWA’s responsibility to ensure that rehabilitation of the structure will be thoroughly evaluated, and that avoidance alternatives will be evaluated if rehabilitation does not meet the Purpose and Need of the project. No commitment can be made to replace any bridge until the environmental review is complete. Rehabilitation of a bridge by the existing owner for continued use is always an option until a decision is made at the end of the environmental review.

INDOT and FHWA want to maximize the amount of time that the public knows about plans for replacing a historic structure, so the public may better be able to make plans to take possession of the structure. A new owner could reuse the structure in-place or have the structure relocated to another site (reassembled or put into storage for future reuse).

A list of historic bridges that are scheduled to be replaced will be maintained on INDOT’s web site with photographs and specific information about each structure, including contacts to get more information. A historic bridge will be placed on the web site as soon as the project is "Scoped" and interested individuals are invited to be consulting parties. This web site contains all current bridges that have been scoped but have not yet had final Contract Documents prepared.

When the bridge is placed on the web site, it will remain until the mitigation is concluded in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) (as required by the 36 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 800). If after the MOA is approved and no party comes forward to express an interest in the bridge and assuming avoidance the structure is not feasible and prudent, then plans will proceed to replace the bridge. From this point on, only parties who are going to relocate the historic structure will be considered.

A bridge will remain on the web site as "available" until approximately 3 months before project plans and specifications goes to the Contract Section at INDOT. If no parties have come forward to show a serious interest in acquiring the structure, then the bridge will be replaced and mitigated according to the Memorandum of Agreement.

Transportation Enhancement funds (federal participation is 80%, interested party must provide 20% funding) are available for historic preservation. Most Indiana local governments are eligible to receive the Transportation Enhancement funds from the INDOT. Indiana not-for-profit organizations may also participate in the program. In order to do so, the not-for-profit will need to find a Town, County, or City government that is willing to sponsor the not-for-profit for the project. The local government sponsor would be required to sign the Transportation Enhancement agreement and accept the funds on behalf of the not-for-profit organization. To enable any party to successfully rehabilitate any historic bridge, either on site or elsewhere, INDOT has committed to giving priority to any enhancement project proposed for the rehabilitation, by other parties, of any structure in this program. This includes relocation at its existing location or to any other site (within Indiana) to be erected or stored.

INDOT and FHWA are still in the planning stages of this initiative, so coordination with Indiana Department of Natural Resources and some of the details still need to be finalized.

We are interested in your thoughts as to how we may best find new owners of these important structures, if preserving the structure is not a feasible and prudent alternative.

Please feel free to contact me or anyone else on the team working on this effort if you have any suggestions, questions, or are interested in any of the bridges posted on this site.

Mr. Christopher Koeppel, Administrator
Cultural Resources Section, Office of Environmental Services
Indiana Department of Transportation
(317)-232-5161
ckoeppel@indot.in.gov