A bridge on 130th Street east of Wellman will be replaced this year. The Washington County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the replacement of the pony truss bridge with a triple reinforced concrete boxed culvert. Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius explained the project east of Hickory Avenue, “Again, it’s an aging structure. It’s a pony truss bridge, so the super-structure is actually above, you drive through that, which makes it narrow. It’s also currently posted at 20- 30- 34-tons depending on truck configuration. So the narrowness and the weight restrictions creates a detour that takes about 4- 4.5-miles to get from one side to the other.” The work was awarded to the lowest bidder – Iowa Bridge and Culvert of Washington for $393,547.90. The bid came in more than $50,000 under the estimate. There were three total bids. The work’s late start date is in August.

A second bridge replacement project was rejected as the bids came in about $120,000 over the estimate. A redesign of the project will be submitted to the DOT and re-let in May or June.