NEW HARMONY, IN (WFIE) -
The bridge closure in New Harmony is already having an impact on emergency response time.
With INDOT's help, the White River Bridge Commission closed it indefinitely on Monday afternoon after the commission said there's no money to fix it.
Emergency Management Services tell 14 News that not being able to use the bridge will double the trip for some agencies going between Indiana and Illinois.
Downtown shops say they're worried the closure will hurt business.
"It isn't visitors of New Harmony. It's much more integrated into the whole economy," said Annette Buckland, the owner of The Antique Showrooms.
New Harmony community members say their historic bridge that was built in 1930 isn't just a landmark.
Posey County Emergency Management Director Larry Robb tells 14 News the New Harmony Fire Department responds to property across the river and some emergency services are shared between Indiana and Illinois making the New Harmony Bridge, he says, a critical link.
"It's important to have numerous points crossing any major river because you never can tell when you may have a problem with a bridge somewhere else," said Larry Robb, Director of the Posey County Emergency Management.
Robb says the closure means an 18 mile trip for Emergency Services going between Crossville, Illinois and New Harmony instead of the usual seven miles. It adds several minutes to some ambulance trips. He says there are some areas in Illinois that Indiana emergency workers can't reach.
"It could be a life-threatening event, so if you're the one that has the emergency, it is a critical issue," said Robb.
Downtown shop owners in New Harmony say they can't judge economic impact of the closure just yet, but they are worried.
"We did have an instance where the bridge was closed for repairs for a few days and we saw that impacted the business," said Buckland.
Everyone we talked with is hoping in some way for the bridge to reopen.
"Someone told me it adds about 20 minutes to the run. That could be life or death," said Buckland.
The White River Bridge Commission tells 14 News that they're hoping for some state and federal aid for repairs. They say $2 million would make it operational and over $8 million for complete repairs. They say it was a tough decision to close the bridge but made that decision a week early after reviewing reports from engineers.
They say the toll money refund accounts at local banks are now set up at Citizens National Bank in Crossville, Illinois and at Fifth Third in New Harmony. You have until June 30 to get the refund.
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