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Grant to help with bridge |
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Monday, 08 March 2010 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
State funding for a renovation project should keep a bridge from requiring a weight limit in upcoming years, the Auglaize County engineer says.
The county recently received word they should receive funding for a nearly $560,000 renovation project for a bridge on County Road 168 traversing the St. Marys River in Noble Township. The county would be responsible for paying 20 percent of total project costs.
“It’s not a complete replacement, which would be triple the cost, but we’re trying to get ahead of the game,” County Engineer Doug Reinhart said.
He said without federal gasoline tax funds dispersed by the state through the Ohio County Engineers Association and renovation work scheduled for 2015, the bridge would likely have had to be posted with a weight restriction. The county has no bridges currently which require posting.
The state receives approximately $25 million in funding for bridge improvements annually.
The Auglaize County bridge to be renovated was built in 1976 and is a main thoroughfare to a stone quarry. It connects old Route 60 with St. Marys River Road.
“Probably half the vehicles traveling over it are tandem dump trucks carrying stone,” Reinhart said of the heavy loads. “The truck traffic is causing the concrete beams to move.”
Despite extensive deterioration of beams, Reinhart said the substructures are in excellent shape.
He said with the use of existing piers and abutments, it would save $110,000, lessen the impact on the environment and reduce closure time by approximately a month. Some substructure work would be required to support the new beams.
The Auglaize County Engineer’s Office is expected to prepare all plans, saving additional money and time on bridge renovation which is expected to take approximately two months to complete.
“We’ve performed some repairs to the deck twice where the steel and concrete beams come together,” Reinhart said. “You can only do that so many times.”
The proposed project would replace the existing 24-foot wide structure, which has a middle steel span with a concrete span on both sides, to an all-concrete deck.
Reinhart said in preparing estimates for financial requests for the project, they tried to take into account inflation rates and hopefully came up with a valid construction estimate for a project which is expected to be funded in fiscal year 2014.
“We complete the plans ahead of time in case our project gets shuffled forward,” Reinhart said of being prepared to receive funding when it is available.
Employees of the Auglaize County Engineer’s Office annually inspect all bridges but inspect those deteriorating further, such as the one to be renovated, twice a year to ensure they are safe for travel.
Reinhart said he expects this one to be fine with no need for weight restrictions before renovations are complete.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 March 2010 )
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