Two Schnellville-area bridges closing simultaneously for five weeks of repairs

Drivers near Schnellville will need to plan around a rare double closure: Bridge 107 on St. Anthony Road North and Bridge 240 on St. Anthony Road West will shut down at the same time for about five weeks of repairs, weather permitting. Both crossings sit south of Schnellville Road, and county officials said the simultaneous closure is meant to keep the project shorter and less expensive.

The Dubois County Highway Department said the shutdown is scheduled to begin Thursday, May 7, with signs posted ahead of time. Bridge 107 is about 0.27 miles south of Schnellville Road, while Bridge 240 is about 0.38 miles south of Schnellville Road. With both approaches closed at once, local traffic will have to detour around the work zone, adding inconvenience for school runs, farm traffic, emergency access and routine trips through the Schnellville area.

The project was bundled and awarded to C&R Construction. Dubois County Commissioners accepted C&R Construction’s low quote of $157,874.40 for the two bridges, and county officials said pairing the work was intended to reduce costs and shorten the overall closure period. The repair method will be rigid deck overlays, a maintenance approach meant to extend the life of the bridges rather than replace them outright.

Levi Leffert, the county highway engineer, has said Dubois County’s highway department operates with 31 employees, and the bridge work fits into the county’s broader 2026 road and bridge program. That program includes additional paving and bridge projects elsewhere in the county, part of a year when officials have tried to bundle work where possible and use available grant dollars to stretch local road money further.

The same stretch of roads has already drawn attention this year. St. Anthony Road North had earlier been closed beginning Jan. 5 for a culvert replacement, and flooding-related notices have also affected the St. Anthony Road West area near Schnellville Road. For drivers who use that corridor regularly, the latest closure is another reminder that even small bridge jobs can reshape travel across rural Dubois County.