LAPORTE | The state has decided to keep a highway bridge in Michigan City closed until the structure can be replaced over the coming year.

The decision comes a week after the Indiana Department of Transportation decided to close the four-lane bridge on Ind. 212, between U.S. 20 and U.S. 12, after discovering a corrosion problem is worsening at a faster rate than expected.

The corrosion is occurring in a space between the approach and the deck of the bridge in an area designed to allow room for expansion and contraction, Angie Fegaras, customer service manager at the Indiana Department of Transportation's LaPorte District, said last week.

The corrosion has been fueled by a combination of the elements, road salt and vehicle oil, she said.

The bridge already was scheduled to be replaced before last week's closure, but the start time of the project has been pushed up so demolition will begin this fall. A new bridge is expected to be in place around the end of May.

The bridge, which spans train tracks operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, was given a rating of 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 during a March 2006 inspection, which translates into serious condition, according to INDOT. The bridge was inspected again Aug. 9 and the decision was made to shut it down as a precautionary measure.

The most recent inspection and closing came just more than a week after the deadly Aug. 1 bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Fegaras downplayed the connection.

"If this would have happened three months ago, they would have done the same thing," she said last week.

A detour directs northbound traffic to take U.S. 35 north to U.S. 12 east, while southbound traffic is being directed to U.S. 12 west to U.S. 35 south.