I-465 bridges remain closed pending tests

State highway engineers plan to take steel samples from two Interstate 465 bridges damaged in Thursday’s propane tanker explosion to determine whether it is safe to reopen the highway on the northeast side of Indianapolis.

Officials kept the bridges closed on Friday, prohibiting any I-465 traffic to cross them and preventing southbound I-69 traffic from using the ramp to southbound I-465. The closure is in one of the area’s busiest traffic corridors, averaging more than 150,000 vehicles a day.

The state highway department said the crash and explosion on an I-69 ramp knocked out one of 45 concrete columns supporting the bridges and will need to be replaced. The steel samples from the bridges will undergo strength testing. Test results may be completed by the end of the day.