10-week Ind. 45 road closure coming to Monroe County. What you need to know.

Ind. 45 southwest of Bloomington will be closed for about 10 weeks starting May 22 as construction crews repair a bridge.

The project will take place just east of Darrell Drive on a bridge over Indian Creek, about 3.5 miles southwest of the state road’s intersection with Interstate 69 in Bloomington.

The Indiana Department of Transportation said in a news release that construction crews will begin installing signs before the project begins. While the agency said it expects the work to take about 10 weeks, weather may postpone project completion.

An INDOT spokeswoman said crews are essentially performing preventative maintenance work.

"INDOT determined during a routine inspection to rehabilitate the existing bridge deck in order to extend the service life of the existing bridge," said Sidney Nierman, public relations director for INDOT Southeast. "Crews will perform a deck overlay, which is rehabilitation work that involves installing dense concrete that adheres to the existing bridge deck."

About 6,600 drivers travel along the affected portion of Ind. 45 each day, Nierman said.

INDOT said the official detour will take drivers via I-69 to Ind. 445 in Greene County. That would add about 4 miles to a trip from the interchange of Ind. 45 and I-69 to the intersection of Ind. 445 and Ind. 45.

Drivers can also use South Dunlap, West Ison and South Harmony roads. That would add about 0.8 miles to a trip between the intersection of Ind. 45 and South Harmony Road and the intersection of Ind. 45 and South Dunlap Road. Another alternative would be to take South Garrison Chapel and West Eller roads.

INDOT said the project is part of a $3.2 million contract it awarded to highway and bridge contractor Ragle Inc. in July 2023. Nierman said the bridge work will cost about $530,000, with 80% being paid with federal dollars and 20% by the state.

INDOT reminded drivers to “slow down, use extra caution and avoid distractions when traveling in and near work zones.”

The agency said drivers in southeast Indiana can monitor road closures, traffic conditions and traffic alerts via:

• X/Twitter: @INDOTSoutheast
• Mobile app: iTunes App Store and the Google Play store for Android

INDOT oversees about 75 bridges on state roads and interstates in Monroe County.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.