Replacing bridge delays other county projects
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

The need for an emergency replacement of a burned down bridge on CR 418 will push back the construction of bridges in several counties including one in Precinct 3.

During Monday's regular meeting, the Wharton County Commissioners approved spending $176,600 to build a new bridge across Tres Palacios Creek.

The contractor for the project is Wakefield Bridge of Wharton. The county received discounts for two 36-inch steel girders it owns that will be used as part of the construction as well as clearing the creek bed and doing backfill work. In addition to the bridge contract, the county agreed to pay $5,000 to Steve Wilson Engineering for drawings and specifications for Wakefield on Precinct 3 Commissioner Philip Miller's recommendation.

In discussing the replacement bridge, Precinct 4 Commissioner Jimmy Kainer said the bridge that burned was 20 feet wide and 86 feet in length. The replacement bridge will be 24 feet wide and 120 feet long.

"The new bridge will be bigger for safety and flood control purposes," Kainer said. "It sits across a curve in the creek so it will be offset a little."

The bridge burned on Sept. 25, he said, adding the fire's cause is still under investigation but preliminary reports indicate it may have been arson. The bridge was a wood frame structure and completely destroyed by the flames.

In addition to putting up signage indicating the bridge was out, Kainer said he had work crews construct mounds of dirt at each end to prevent people from trying to drive through the area. The approach to the bridge is a straight line, he said, adding he's concerned that if someone wasn't paying attention to the signs a motorist could drive into the creek without those mounds.

Wakefield said that because of the emergency situation, he contacted several counties he has contracts with and they agreed to push back deadlines.

Among the other projects that could be impacted is the replacement of a bridge across CR 308 at Stage Stand Creek, Miller said. While acknowledging the potential delay, the commissioners approved opening bids for the project Nov. 8 and awarding bids at the commissioners' Nov. 13 meeting.

"There is no danger of the (CR 308) bridge going out," Miller said in an interview after the meeting. "This is just part of a regular replacement program for bridge maintenance in my precinct. We've noticed some erosion problems at the location and I thought it was a good time to look at replacing the bridge."