BATTLE GROUND, Ind. (WLFI) — The State Road 225 bridge is out of commission until further notice.

Battle Ground Town Council President Jim Miller says the bridge was a quick way to cross the Wabash River.

"To me, it's a shortcut. And, I think, to a lot of the locals, it's a shortcut. ... We're going to be happy to see a refurbished bridge," Miller says.

But the town didn't have much say in the matter.

"Not much. It's all state-driven," Miller says. "The choices were short-term inconvenience ... or permanently shut down. What's your choice?"

Megan DeLucenay, public relations director for the Indiana Department of Transportation's west central district, says drivers must wait for a bridge rehabilitation project in 2024.

"So back in May, after an inspection, our team found cracks in the bridge caused by overweight vehicles continuously crossing it illegally," DeLucenay says.

INDOT officials are closing the bridge in the meantime because its 12-ton weight limit is frequently ignored.

"Overweight vehicles would still continue to cross it, causing significant damage, even more damage that's already been done, and it could be damage that we can't repair," DeLucenay says.

That's not an option, says Larry Walker, who's lived near the Battle Ground side of the bridge for 42 years.

"It needs to stay," Walker says. "Everybody knows the one-lane bridge heading to Battle Ground."

Walker has this message for truckers turning a blind eye to the bridge's weight limit, which caused the historic steel structure to crack.

"Leave my bridge alone," he says.

The bridge was originally built in 1910.

All weight restrictions will be lifted when the bridge rehabilitation project is finished.

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