As soon as the weather breaks in the spring, county workers will get to work.

Monday, January 17, 2000

As soon as the weather breaks in the spring, county workers will get to work. A number of county bridges are scheduled to be replaced this year, said David Lynd, county engineer.

"When you have 200 larger bridges in a county, and each have a lifespan of about 75 years, you have to work on three a year to stay even," Lynd said. "We won’t ever run out of things to do."

Plans for three bridges near Rankins Creek on County Road 17 are expected to arrive this month, Lynd said.

"We’ve had those under design for about two and a half years," he said. "We hope it will go out to contract in the middle of (this) year."

The bridges have needed to be replaced for a few years, and have weight restrictions, Lynd said.

"They’re old and they are narrow bridges," he said. "And it’s the main route to the vocational school. Replacing the bridges will improve that route there."

Designs will continue on the covered bridge bypass this year, Lynd added.

"We’re just starting the designs," he said. "It’ll be a couple of years before construction begins."

The covered bridge will remain intact despite the construction, however. The bypass is being designed to avoid tearing down the historical structure, Lynd said.

Other bridges to be renovated this year include the one near Federal Creek, or County Road 73; the one on County Road 6; one in Ohio Furnace; and one on Long Creek Road, or County Road 13, Lynd said.

"We’re planning on replacing the bridge on Federal Creek," he said. "We’ll renovate the structure on County Road 6."

Some of the bridge projects will involve temporary closures, but local detour routes will be established, Lynd said.

"Federal Creek – we hope to build it in such a way so that we can leave the existing bridge open during construction," he said.

Temporary lane restrictions also could be in store for motorists who travel County Road 1, or Old U.S. 52, Lynd said.

"We have plans to resurface County Road 1," he said. "We’ve applied for Issue II grant money."

It’s been about 17 years since the last major resurfacing project on that route, Lynd said.

"We’ll try to do it one way or another, but we hope we get the grant money," he said.

County Road 1 won’t be the only area road that sees a fresh coat of asphalt this year, said Don Lambert, county garage superintendent.

"We’re trying to get rid of as much gravel road in the county as we can," Lambert said. "We’re down now to less than a 30-mile area. We have done this past year 20 some miles. In the next couple of years, we will have all the dirt roads phased out."

Other county projects include the installation of guardrails, Lambert said.