(WHAS11) -- Repairs to the closed Sherman Minton are on track and are expected to be complete by the March 1 deadline and perhaps as much as one week earlier according to the Indiana Department of Transportation's Chief of Staff.
"I wouldn't put any money on anything but I don't think it's going to be any later than March 1," said INDOT's Bob Zier.
Hall Contracting of Ky. has already billed for 62 percent of the project's $13.9 million price tag, INDOT said. In effect, the work is half complete.
"I'm hoping to see this thing open days before it's scheduled to be open," Zier said.
Thursday will mark Day 100 of the 135 days Hall Contracting has to complete repairs in the schedule agreed to in a contract.
For every day finished ahead of time, the contractor is awarded $100,000. Each day of a delay would bring a $100,000 penalty.
"We do anticipate that incentives will be paid," said INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield. "In reality, considering the inconvenience, I think we'll be pleased if incentives have to be paid on this project."
Though repair work started on October 19, the steel was delayed and did not arrive until December 19.
"We're back on schedule with steel, a little bit ahead of schedule on receiving steel," Zeir said.
The steel is milled in Iowa and fabricated in Northwest Indiana. The project required American made materials.
In the five weeks since the first steel arrived, the contractor has installed more than half of the 2.4 million pounds of reinforcing steel plates, INDOT said.
Despite the pressures and the economic toll of the bridge closure, the state says bridge repairs are being done not just rapidly but with care, with daily inspections of tools and materials.
"The main thing is safety and trying to make sure that everything is done," Zeir said. "This is probably one of the cleanest work sites that INDOT's ever had. We're very impressed with Hall and what they are doing, but you can only ask so much of them."
When a crack in the critical load bearing element of the bridge prompted Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) to order its closure on September 9, Zeir reiterated the necessity of the decision, saying he would not allow his family to drive across the span.
"When it's done, I will drive my family across this bridge again," Zeir said on Wednesday. "So I just want to let you know when I've got the confidence to get back on this bridge, whether it be in five weeks or four weeks or three weeks."
Zeir later clarified the reopening timeline, hopeful that the bridge will reopen days before March 1.
It appears unlikely that work will be done by a February 5th target date that would have triggered $75,000 per day incentives from the Horseshoe Foundation. Hall Contracting would have been eligible for a one million dollar bonus if work was complete by January 27.
"There's nothing more than we would love than to write a check on Friday for a million dollars but I don't think that will be happening," said Jerry Finn of the Horseshoe Foundation.
INDOT said the load bearing tie girders have been sandblasted and primed -- but the bridge will not be painted, at least not yet.
"It's not going to look new," Zier said. "When people come across it they're going to say, 'it looks just the same.' In many ways, it does. There have been repairs coming and going on either end but you're still going to see the rust. It's up there, it does not affect the quality of the bridge."
Some maintenance work on the bridge deck, however, has improved the road surface, INDOT said.
