INDIANAPOLIS — The rehabilitation of Indianapolis’s Nowland Avenue Bridge has been completed, thanks to the efforts of community volunteers, engineers, and construction crews who came together to save the unique structure.
At the turn of the twentieth century, bridge designers and builders hailed the structural and aesthetic virtues of concrete for bridge construction. Few embraced the material as enthusiastically as Daniel B. Luten, a prolific Indianapolis-based bridge engineer whose “Luten arch” revolutionized bridge construction. Completed in 1903, the Nowland Avenue Bridge spanning Pogue’s Run in historic Spades Park east of downtown qualifies as the oldest remaining Luten bridge in the city.
By 2017, a century’s worth of wear left the bridge in poor shape. Neighbors from the Near Eastside formed Pathways Over Pogue’s to advocate for bridge repairs and the trail’s completion, securing $226,000 in donations. The City of Indianapolis awarded a $600,000 federal Community Development Block Grant for the project. Indiana Landmarks chipped in with two grants from the Marion County Historic Preservation Fund to help with design costs. With work now complete, the Nowland Avenue Bridge is slated for a grand opening in spring 2023.
