This 1895 iron structure, now dismantled, will find a new home in Delphi The City of Delphi learned last week that it has been awarded a sizable grant through the federally funded Transportation Enhancement Program. Grants are awarded through the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).

The City has worked with the Carroll County Wabash & Erie Canal Association and Delphi Historic Trails to secure this grant, which will fund a historic foot bridge project connected with the Hoosier Heartland Highway.

“The grant overall exceeds $2 million, with 80 percent ($1,605,000) in federal funds and a 20 percent match by the state through Major Moves money,” said Dan McCain, president of the Canal Association.

McCain said the grant money will reconstruct a 300- foot 1895 bridge over the Hoosier Heartland Highway beside the intersection with Main Street in east Delphi.

The bridge is called Freedom Bridge because it originally was built in Freedom, Ind., in Owen County. It spanned the White River. Mc- Cain said when a new bridge was built at the site several years ago, the old bridge was dismantled and stored at Conner Prairie.

He said Conner Prairie had plans for the bridge but can no longer use it.

The effort to bring the bridge to Carroll County was prompted by the Hoosier Heartland Highway dissecting the Monon High Bridge Trail, which is part of the Delphi Historic Trails System. The Freedom Bridge will be a pedestrian bridge, reconnecting the trail.

It will be located on a bluff south of Tri-State Cob, on a severed portion of the former Monon Railroad.

“The Canal Association has owned the railroad right-ofway since the Mears brothers gave us the land six years ago,” McCain said. “The Canal and Delphi Historic Trails volunteers built the present Monon High Bridge Trail and opened it in 2004.”

McCain and Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser say the Freedom Bridge will be a “signature” bridge for Delphi and Carroll County. It will run perpendicular to and above the Hoosier Heartland Highway.

“From a historical standpoint, it will be an eye catcher,” Strasser said. “It will connect the trail that leads to the Monon High Bridge, and it will be only a mile from Wilson Bridge.”

“Thousands of motorists daily will pass under this historic 1895 iron relic,” Mc- Cain said. “It will serve as a trail crossing and an ‘advertisement’ for all the historical things in and around Carroll County for travelers to visit. It could be likened to a wakeup call as people become aware of our historical treasures nearby.”

The feasibility of putting a long bridge above the highway was made possible through a redesign of the proposed HHH through Delphi.

“A lot of planning and discussion went into this,” Strasser said.

“Mayor Strasser has worked very diligently and effectively with the Canal and Trails to make this come our way,” McCain added.

He explained that the grant was awarded to the City of Delphi as a Local Public Agency. He said this is protocol for grants administered by INDOT.

“We thank the INDOT coordination team that made this feature of the new highway possible,” McCain said.

He added that although the bridge will be a part of the Delphi Historic Trails system, the state will own it.