ICT project preps for creek crossing

Where the old Rothrock Mill Bridge sits, it is in pieces behind a secure fence at the intersection of Corydon-Ramsey and Quarry roads; the spot where it will be reassembled at its permanent home is getting closer to completion with the passing of each day.
Bridge supports or abutments have been poured into place in a secluded area of Hayswood Nature Reserve, northeast of Hays Lake and near a bird observatory area that was part of an Eagle Scout project by Reid Morgan of Corydon.
Once complete, the Rothrock Mill Bridge will span Big Indian Creek and will undoubtedly be one of the centerpieces of the Indian Creek Trail Project.
The bridge sat across Blue River south of Milltown until it was removed and set on a neighboring property when work began on Rothrock Mill Road in 2005. It was later dismantled and moved to its current site. Once put into place, the Indian Creek Trail will need only one other span to cross the creek, likely near Lincoln Hills Road.
After the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Barack Obama, the first project in which the federal government ‘ through the Indiana Department of Transportation ‘ picked up the tab was in the way of stimulus funds for the disassembling and moving of the historic bridge.
The nearly $2 million federal-aid project will cost the county about $212,000 when complete. The plans originally called for the trail to run from Hayswood all the way to downtown Corydon at South Mulberry Street.
Currently, the trail runs from near the West Bridge in downtown Corydon northeast to Gov. Frank L. O’Bannon Park near the YMCA of Harrison County.
Another section of the trail, known as Logan’s Trail, runs between South Mulberry Street and Rice Island, which is being spruced up by Matthew Paul, who is working on his Eagle Scout award, and the First Capital Soccer Club. (When complete, the former playground will give youth additional opportunities to play soccer.)
The nonprofit ICTC was organized in 1998 to establish a 20,000-foot network of trails for walkers, runners and cyclists alongside Big and Little Indian creeks in and around Corydon.