By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission will be forced to dip into a new special bridge replacement fund much earlier than expected after a heavily used bridge over the Saline River failed last month.
Ellis County Public Works Director Brendan Mackay told the Ellis County Commission last week crews became aware on Sept. 30 the Saline River Road bridge over the Saline River, about one mile west of Codell Avenue had failed.
Mackay told the commission when he got the call about a bridge failure, “I was definitely not expecting this bridge.”
The bridge was built in 1960 but, Mackay said even the most recent inspection, done at the end of 2020, showed there were no major structural defects.
He said the west side of the bridge dropped about six to eight inches and the entire structure would move whenever someone drove on it.
Saline River Road is a heavily traveled road and used by a lot of oil and agricultural entities in the northeast part of the county.
Mackay said a bridge piling took damage from a large object flowing down the river and that possibly helped to weaken the structure. The damage to the structure, according to Mackay, and the heavy traffic going over the bridge caused it to fail.
“It actually didn’t rust out,” Mackay said. “It buckled and then it sheered itself off and that caused the whole pier to collapse.”
The day after crews found the issue, an engineering firm was called to inspect the bridge and they determine there is no saving the bridge.
“It’s going to need an entire new structure,” Mackay said.
Mackay told the commission this bridge is vital to that region of the county and estimated it could cost about $600,000 to replace, more if the county wants it replaced in four to five months.
There are not any grants available from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
During the budgeting process earlier this year, the commission set up a special bridge fund to help cover the costs of the aging infrastructure. The commission elected to transfer $400,000 into that fund for fiscal year 2022.
County Administrator Darin Myers told the commission the county
will not be able to use that $400,000, but has other funds available.
“This is a very perfect example of why we do not to start focusing back on returning deposits into capital, so that way when a bridge like this does fail, we have money sitting right there ready and we’re not looking for ways to fund projects like this,” Myers said.
The county does have $5.4 million from general obligation bonds that they took out earlier to help pay for the Northwest Business Corridor and other road improvement projects within Ellis County.
Myers also told the commission they have saved money by not doing some resurfacing projects. Those funds and current funds in the special bridge fund will allow the county to cover the costs.
The commission elected to sent out a request for bids with an option for a six-month replacement and a 10-month replacement and they will compare the bids and then make a decision on the time frame.
Crews have placed barricades and piles of dirt on the bridge to block traffic from crossing it.
Commission approved go-ahead with Northwest Business Corridor
In other business, the commission also gave the go-ahead for work to move forward on the Northwest Business Corridor north and west of Hays.
The commission voted to accept a $9.2 million dollar bid from Wildcat Construction of Wichita. The construction will improve 230th Avenue and Feedlot Road and complete a by-pass around Hays.
Mackay says now it’s up to KDOT to manage the project. The county’s share of the project is $3.39 million and will be paid for through GO bonds.