Board votes to close aging Wabash River bridge

NEW HARMONY, Ind. — An aging toll bridge over the southern part of the Wabash River between Indiana and Illinois is set to be shut down next week.

The private commission that oversees the 82-year-old New Harmony Bridge voted Sunday night to close it at noon May 29. Commission member Jim Clark tells the Evansville Courier & Press (http://bit.ly/KqVTS7 ) that an inspection of the bridge last month found more deterioration that expected.

Clark says inspectors found problems all along the bridge and that repair costs are “more than we could imagine.”

The commission decided against immediately closing the bridge about 25 miles west of Evansville in order to notify emergency agencies.

The commission isn’t able to raise enough money to repair the span because it averages fewer than 1,000 vehicles a day.