Traffic headache at U.S. 41 over Pigeon Creek is about to get worse

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A little more than two years ago, the U.S. 41 bridge over Pigeon Creek was struck by a truck hauling an oversized load, damaging the trusses so badly that construction crews — just weeks after finishing an extensive refurbishment — had to tear the bridge down.

The state's been in the process of suing the driver of the truck — along with several other people and companies — since March 2020.

Soon, ripples from that incident will cause an even bigger traffic headache.

INDOT Southwest announced this week that southbound traffic on U.S. 41 would be rerouted to Fares Avenue on Indiana 66 at the Pigeon Creek Bridge beginning March 22. Cars are expected to take the Diamond Avenue exit and wait in the left turn lane at the Fares/Diamond traffic light to get back onto U.S. 41.

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Jason Tiller, spokesman for INDOT Southwest, said it's difficult to put a number on how long traffic delays will last but expects "peak" commute times — from morning work commutes to the midday lunch rush to the evening work commute home — to pose the biggest challenge when it comes to traffic congestion.

INDOT's "Traffic Count Database System" shows the average daily traffic total in that construction zone was 32,080 cars in 2020, the most recent year traffic data in that area was recorded. About half of that traffic was southbound. The system reported nearly 5,000 cars on average drove on the part of Fares Avenue where U.S. 41 traffic will get diverted, meaning there will be a significant increase in volume.

To alleviate backups during those times, Tiller said the timing of the Fares/Diamond traffic lights will be adjusted to give people waiting to get back on U.S. 41 more time.

The reason for the traffic reroute: Construction crews will begin repaving U.S. 41 from the Pigeon Creek bridge to Diamond Avenue, work that will last through the middle of July. The bridge once would've been considered useful for diverting traffic, Tiller said, but not anymore.

"If the bridge hadn't been hit, we probably would've been able to keep one lane of traffic open at all times instead of rerouting people down Fares Avenue," Tiller said. "The bridge being hit certainly complicated things a little bit."

In the aftermath of the March 2020 collision, Indiana State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle said the truck's escort missed a turn onto Lynch Road and that the escort driver tried to alert the truck's driver, Kemranbek Temirov, that the large electric motor he was hauling wouldn't fit under the truss.

“It just took out every rung. It bent every one of them,” a passerby told dispatchers in a recording of a 911 call obtained by the Courier & Press.

Police issued Temirov two tickets: one for expired registration and the other for breaking the terms of the over-sized permit.

"We’ll pursue financial responsibility from the parties involved,” Tiller said at the time.

And boy, have they.

Though the case is still ongoing, court records show the State of Indiana and INDOT are pursuing damages against several parties involved both directly and tangentially in the collision.

Defendants listed in the case include: Temirov and his employer; the company and owner of the truck Temirov drove; Louis Tony Reese Jr., who drove the escort vehicle; the company that owned the cargo Temirov was hauling; and his permit provider.

The state accused Temirov and Reese of several acts of negligence, including "deviating from the prescribed, permitted route" and of failing to exercise "due care" that led to the collision with the bridge.

The complaint notes Temirov should have realized he was carrying cargo that couldn't pass under the bridge and that his failure to stick to the permitted route led to the bridge's damage.

Damages to the bridge resulted in a total cost "still to be determined," court documents stated. The case is still ongoing, with the last notable litigative action a motion by the defendants for an extension of time in the case. That was on Feb. 24.

Contact Ray Couture at rcouture@courierpress.com or on Twitter @raybc94

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: The traffic headache at U.S. 41 and Pigeon Creek is about to get worse