Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson’s administration says the Nappanee Street pedestrian bridge needs to come down but it should be replaced for the safety of students. The city says it would need help paying for it.
An Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Wednesday said the state can’t afford the bridge’s estimated $8.5 million cost, but if the city can come up with the money, they’ll approve the project. Otherwise, the agency says it would consider at-grade safety measures, like signals and a pedestrian island.
The city administration says such measures could fall short with hundreds of students crossing a busy highway daily.
”Ultimately the best solution is to have another bridge but the city just got impacted severely by SEA 1, which massively impacts our funding going in, so we have to really think about our projects very carefully," says city spokesman Alex Otto.
Otto says the city is prepared to kick in some money but it would need help from other stakeholders if the community wants the bridge replaced.
"We’re the only ones at the table who are talking about a solution, as of right now," Otto says. "I’m hoping that out of this and out of getting some public awareness, that maybe another partner organization will feel inspired to step forward and be a little bit more involved.”
Chad Crabtree agrees. He’s a West Side Middle School teacher who also represents the neighborhood on the Elkhart Common Council.
“I’ve emailed, called anybody I can think of," Crabtree says. "I’ve gone so far to even contact Amazon, hopefully Jeff Bezos will get it, because they’ve made some investment here in the city of Elkhart, as well as in the county, if they can help us with that. We just need community partners to come to the table to help us figure out the solution.”
Crabtree says he also doesn’t want to see an at-grade crossing.
“That’s going to be dangerous because that means the students are going to be crossing the road at the same level the trucks are. There's been many times I’ve set at Lexington and State Road 19. My light is green and as I start to pursue through the intersection, an 18-wheeler comes barreling through. I don’t think a grade crossing is going to work. We need something that is more secure, more safe for our students.”
