Board approves lighting modifications for Kennedy Bridge and a material-testing change order on Kennedy Road Diet project

The Hammond Board of Public Works and Safety on May 15 approved a request to allocate $55,873.26 in CIB funds for lighting modifications at the Kennedy Bridge over the Indiana Harbor Railroad and separately approved change order No. 2 for $16,050 to United Consulting for regulated material testing on the Kennedy Road Diet project.

Staff reported the Kennedy Bridge work is tied to a Lake County bridge reconstruction project and that the bridge demolition removed the original conduit and feed that served the lighting. “Lake County is rebuilding the Kennedy Bridal over the IHB. Ham is responsible for street lighting. There was a problem with the street light feed that was going through the bridge wall that was being deconstructed,” staff said, explaining the city needs a second service point and a reconnected lighting circuit on the south side of the bridge. Staff said the contractor on the county project is Dunnet Bay and that the city will be billed through Dunnet Bay’s subcontractor, HAWK Enterprises.

On the Kennedy Road Diet project, staff said the material testing change order was needed because the INDOT-managed project lacked a bid item for regulated material testing; sampling was required near Crane Company and Buckeye Pipeline to ensure no contaminated material was present. Staff reported the testing did not find contaminated material and that an earlier change order created a net credit, keeping the overall project under budget despite the current $16,050 increase. The city's share of change order No. 2 was stated as $2,210 in the correspondence and was clarified during the meeting.

Board members recorded their assent with standard approval language in the meeting record. No formal roll-call vote or recorded dissent appears in the public transcript. Staff did not provide specific completion dates for the lighting reconnection in the public portion of the meeting.