Demolition set for closed bridge over I-80/94

State officials expect demolition work to start in a couple of weeks on a bridge over Interstate 80/94 in northwestern Indiana that was closed last year because of safety concerns.

Crews are to begin removing the Martin Luther King Drive bridge in Gary on Oct. 10 and be finished by early December. State highway department spokesman Jim Pinkerton tells The Times of Munster that construction of a new bridge will start in March.

The state is suing Superior Construction Co., claiming it didn’t properly build the bridge in 2004. It was closed after inspectors found cracks in its support beams and concrete deck.

An attorney for Superior blames the bridge’s problems on engineering design and materials.

The bridge just west of I-65 was carrying about 4,100 vehicles a day.