Bridge $ OK’d

One bridge project has been completed, another is next on the list.

Jay County Commissioners approved a contract and funding related to bridge work on county road 600 West just north of Indiana 26. Approximately $175,000 of the cost — it will need to be approved by Jay County Council — will be paid for with economic development income tax (EDIT) dollars.

Jay County Highway Department officials have been looking into repairing or replacing old bridges along county roads, including replacing those on county road 600 West just north of Indiana 26 with culverts. Highway superintendent administrative assistant Stephanie Klarer explained Monday that work on one of the bridges is nearly complete, with the county waiting for guardrails to be delivered and installed. The $300,000 project was mainly funded through American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

Klarer noted the county received bids for work on the other bridge. She asked commissioners to purchase the culvert priced at $275,729.20, with the highway department to pay the remaining costs for materials and a contractor to install it.

If the county didn’t invest in the project now, she added, the work would be held off until it could apply for Community Crossings grant funding through Indiana Department of Transportation. (The highway department is already planning to apply for grant funding for a bridge replacement on county road 700 West next year, a project estimated at north of $1.3 million.)

Commissioners Chad Aker and Duane Monroe both voiced support for repairing or replacing bridges. Aker suggested utilizing money from the highway department’s culvert fund as well as the county’s cumulative capital development and EDIT funds. 

Commissioners agreed to contribute $175,000 out of the EDIT fund and $100,000 out of the cumulative capital development fund toward the culvert purchase. (Their decision requires an additional appropriation from council.) The highway department will pay for remaining costs, including materials, assembly and the $28,000 construction contract with Link Dozing of rural Portland also approved by commissioners Monday.

In related news, Klarer noted that the highway department recently had a small structure inspected on county road 300 North between county roads 400 East and 450 East. She shared plans to replace it with a culvert, a roughly $250,000 expense, and formally convert the structure into a bridge.

“It is a dire need — the shoulders need to be closed off,” she explained, noting heavy traffic along county road 300 North.

She talked about potentially applying for Community Crossings grant funding for the project. Klarer shared hopes for civil engineering company SJCA of Indianapolis to conduct a small structure inventory for the county, pointing out the county currently doesn’t have one in the books. 

Also, commissioners approved a $4,202.22 task order with SJCA to inspect the detour in Jay County before and after bridge work planned on Indiana 18 just west of Bryant starting this month. (Mapped by Indiana Department of Transportation, the local traffic detour routes along county roads 50 West, 650 North and 250 West.)