CaseStudy:Preserving Indiana’s Historic Bridges

During the past 30 months, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and its consultant (Mead & Hunt Architecture Inc.) have completed a contextual study of the historic bridges in Indiana, a listing of bridges eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and a proposed methodology for identifying historic bridges to be tagged for preservation.

The program was put into effect with the execution of a statewide Programmatic Agreement (PA) for the Management and Preservation of Indiana’s Historic Bridges, executed among the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), INDOT, and the Indiana State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) on August 11, 2006. The PA was also signed by the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and the Historic SPANS Task Force as concurring parties. The Historic SPANS task force is comprised of the Historic Landmarks Foundation, the FHWA, INDOT, and preservation professionals.

The program was developed to address a growing concern among the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, the National Trust for Historic Preservation(NTHP), and the Carroll County Historic Bridge Coalition that case-by-case Section 106 review of bridge projects in Indiana was not serving to protect historic bridges from demolition. FHWA funds were being used to replace some of the state’s most historically significant bridges, even when they could have been saved and rehabilitated at a lower cost. In 2002, the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana listed Indiana’s historic bridges in its “Ten Most Endangered” properties. The same year, the NTHP placed Indiana’s Historic Bridges on its 11 most endangered list. The NTHP awarded the Indiana Historic SPANS Task Force the National Preservation Honor Award in 2007 for its work on the Indiana Historic Bridges Program, noting that: ''“From 1987-1999, poor planning and conflicting interests led to the loss of 62 percent of Indiana’s historic bridges. Built between 1860 and 1930 and made of wood, stone, iron, and steel, hundreds of these structures were torn down even though rehabilitation would have been less expensive than new construction. When both the NTHP and the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana put the Hoosier State’s historic bridges on their endangered lists, an alarm bell sounded. Fighting to save these threatened bridges one at a time was proving to be ineffective. A more holistic, proactive approach was needed.”''

To address these concerns, INDOT and FHWA agreed to develop the PA in consultation with a broad array of stakeholders, including preservationists and Indiana’s county governments that own and are responsible for maintaining most of the state’s historic bridges.

While the consulting parties agreed to a program that would focus preservation efforts on the most important historic bridges and those most suitable for preservation, reaching agreement on how those bridges would be identified and striking an appropriate balance has proved challenging. In December 2008, the Historic SPANS Task Force and the NTHP wrote to the ACHP’s executive director requesting the agency’s assistance in resolving several disputed issues regarding implementation of the PA. After discussing its concerns with various parties, the ACHP responded on March 17, 2009, in a letter to FHWA’s Indiana Division, requesting a meeting with all consulting parties to consider the concerns raised. INDOT and FHWA have scheduled a meeting for April 21, 2009, and the ACHP’s FHWA liaison will attend.

Understanding that not all historic bridges can be saved, the primary goal of the PA is to complete a historic bridges inventory and identify a pool of bridges of each type that will be designated as “Select” bridges. For bridges that are identified as “Select,” FHWA will not provide funding toward projects that result in their demolition. “Non-Select Bridges” will go through Section 106 review (and review under Section 4(f )); however, the parties to the PA have agreed that the project review may result in demolition. The conflict brought to the ACHP’s attention is focused on the methodology (or criteria) for selecting specific bridges for preservation.

Groups formally involved in the Section 106 process include the Indiana SHPO, the ACHP, INDOT, Indiana Association of County Commissioners, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Historic SPANS Task Force, Indiana Association of County Highway Engineers and Supervisors, and Mead & Hunt Architecture, Inc.