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| 2/2/2009 1:32:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Cheatham champions replacement of bridge over to Milton, Kentucky
State Rep. Dave Cheatham (D-North Vernon) is co-authoring a legislative effort to expedite progress on replacing the outdated Madison-Milton Bridge.
Last week, the Indiana House Roads and Transportation Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1226, legislation that would establish a 14-member legislative commission to accelerate the construction of bridges that link Indiana with Kentucky over the Ohio River.
The Madison-Milton bridge project, Cheatham said, is in desperate need of swift and decisive action from the legislature. The existing bridge was built in 1929, and has a very limited time before becoming unsafe for motorists.
A total of $10 million has already been appropriated for environmental and engineering studies for the proposed bridge replacement. Cheatham hopes the commission will push the legislature to move bridge project past planning phases.
"As we learned in Minnesota in 2007, we cannot take the safety of our bridges for granted," Cheatham said. "It is government's responsibility to keep our state's infrastructure safe. This bridge replacement is a necessary project, one that I will champion throughout the legislative session."
HB 1226 was authored by State Rep. Steve Stemler (D-Jeffersonville), who developed the proposal to help move past roadblocks on the Ohio River Bridges project, a series of two bridges that will link Jeffersonville, Ind., with Louisville, Ky. Cheatham worked with Stemler to extend the proposed commission's jurisdiction to any bridge crossing the Ohio River.
Cheatham has also gained the support of State Sen. Jim Lewis (D-Charlestown), who will sponsor HB 1226 if it advances to the Senate. Cheatham noted that Lewis has been extremely helpful in the development of the bill, and has been instrumental in garnering support from other members of the General Assembly. Lewis is in his ninth term as state senator for Indiana's District 45, which includes Marion, Montgomery, Lovett and Spencer townships in Jennings County.
"It is time that Indiana and Kentucky work toward making significant progress on this much needed infrastructure upgrade," Cheatham said. "This is an immense undertaking, one that will create hundreds of construction and engineering jobs and stimulate growth in other segments of the economy. We can and must take immediate action to keep this project moving."
The commission would include four members of the Indiana House and Senate, the chairs of the Indiana House and Senate Transportation committees, the commissioner or a representative of the Indiana Department of Transportation, the president or representative of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, a designee of Gov. Mitch Daniels and U.S. Rep. Baron Hill or a designee from Indiana's 9th Congressional District.
"The federal government is working hard to push infrastructure improvements all across the country," Cheatham said. "We should take their lead and ensure that critical projects, such as the Madison-Milton Bridge, get the attention that they deserve."
Cheatham represents Indiana House District 69, which includes most of Jennings all of Jefferson County.
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