Bridge Builders Biography Chapter 15
Alkire Road Railroad Overpass
![bridge over road](http://brandlogic.io/engineers/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/BBB15-1-300x199.jpg)
![bridge](http://brandlogic.io/engineers/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/BBB15-2-300x198.jpg)
The widening and reconstruction of Alkire Road, from Harrisburg Pike (U.S. Rt. 62) to Creekside Drive, in 2011, included the construction of a new railroad overpass.
The single-span, steel beam bridge is 77 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 20 feet tall. It carries a single track operated by the Indiana & Ohio Railroad.
Shelly & Sands, Inc. built the $6.1 million project from plans prepared by Tran Systems, Inc.
Travel on Alkire Road was vastly improved by the construction of the new overpass, which accommodates east and westbound lanes, a center turn lane, bike lane, and sidewalk. The previous overpass, built in 1902, was a single-barrel stone arch structure that narrowly fit two lanes of traffic without sidewalks.
A temporary bridge was erected directly over the old bridge so that railroad service could be maintained during most of the project.