For the second year in a road, the majority of local bridges determined to most need replacement are located in the vicinity of Hope within Hawcreek Township.
That’s according to an inventory and inspection report of all 203 county-owned bridges by Indianapolis-based United Consulting, submitted Monday to the Bartholomew County Commissioners.
The locations of the four Hawcreek Township bridges on United’s Top Five list for replacement are located at:
County Road 900E, east of Hope over Haw Creek (Bridge 66)
County Road 425N, south of Hope over Duck Creek (Bridge 44)
County Road 850N, northeast of Hope over Duck Creek (Bridge 50)
County Road 945N, northeast of Hope over Little Haw Creek (Bridge 57)
The river crossings along 850N and 945N were on the list presented in July 2017, when three of the five bridges needing replacement were in Hawcreek Township.
The replacement of one of last year’s bridges, located on East Stafford Road over Little Haw Creek, was approved early this year.
However, no bridge currently being used has deteriorated to the point where there is an imminent public danger, Bartholomew County Highway engineer Danny Hollander said.
While the severity of deterioration have been prioritized, replacement plans for all five bridges are either in the design phase or soon will be, Hollander said.
In addition, all of these crossings remain in compliance with state and federal regulations, said United Consulting engineer Joshua Gonya, who presented the report Monday.
The fifth bridge on this year’s replacement list borders Harrison and Columbus townships southwest of Columbus. Known as Bridge 249, it is located along County Road 400W over Denois Creek.
But none of those replacement projects will have as big an impact on Bartholomew County drivers as the bridge along East 25th Street bridge that crosses Clifty Creek east of Petersville.
That structure is included in a separate Top Five list created by United Consulting for bridges in most need of rehabilitation, instead of replacement.
While no construction timetable has been announced for the East 25th Street bridge, commissioner Carl Lienhoop estimates it will cost more than $200,000 to give it a new concrete surface.
Another of the bridges identified as most in need of rehabilitation is the covered bridge in Mill Race Park. Last week, the county agreed to pay nearly $63,000 to replace the historic structure’s wood shake shingle roof.
The remaining three bridges in need of rehabilitation are located at:
County Road 115E, at the south end of Gladstone Avenue over Clifty Creek (Bridge 111)
County Road 900N, northwest of St. Louis Crossing over Flatrock River (Bridge 73)
County Road 600S, southwest of Elizabethtown over Sand Branch (Bridge 116)
There are 203 bridges maintained by Bartholomew County government. That total is 42 percent higher than the average of 143 bridges found in Indiana counties.
Nevertheless, Bartholomew County’s bridges are in good shape when compared to the rest of the state, Gonya told the commissioners.
For example, the 92 counties in Indiana have an average of 8.2 percent of their bridges deteriorated to the point when they qualify for federal funds to replace them. In comparison, Bartholomew County has 6.9 percent rated that low.
In addition, 4.4 percent of the local bridges have posted weight limits, while the statewide average is 11 percent per county.
As for age, 15.3 percent of Bartholomew County bridges are more than 50 years old, compared to 29.7 percent of all county bridges in Indiana.
Federal law requires all county bridges to be inspected at least once every 24 months. However, 80 percent of the inspection costs are paid by federal funds, commissioners chairman Larry Kleinhenz said.
