Lancaster County officials moved forward Tuesday with ordering engineering services and plans to repair two rural bridges.
Both bridgesÌýare in dire need of repairs, County Engineer Pam Dingman said at the Lancaster County commissioners’ weekly meeting.
Bridge H-119, which is on 176th Street north of Bluff Road and crosses Camp Creek, is a spring storm away from being closed because of concerns about water having scoured mud and silt away from its supports. County commissioners unanimously approved a $28,150 contract with JEO Consulting Group of Lincoln for engineering services to address the scouring.
Another bridge north of there, known as H-120, currently is closed. If both bridges are shuttered it would cut off two families from their homes and seven farmers from their fields.
Commissioners on Feb. 7 approved a contract with JEO Consulting for engineering services related to scour mitigation for the north bridge, also at a cost of $28,150. Dingman hopes to repair and reopen the north bridge before closing and beginning construction on the south bridge.
People are also reading…
The other engineering contract approved Tuesday went to InfraStructure LLC of Omaha for design of a new deck surface for bridge N-138, which is on West Denton Road just west of Denton. The County Board unanimously approved the contract for $18,953.
“The surface of the bridge is worn out. We’ve patched it and repatched it. It’s simply falling apart,†Dingman said.
Once outfitted with a new deck, the bridge should be good for another 50 to 75 years, Dingman said.
In other business Tuesday, commissioners approved:
* A donation of $18,000 from the Inmate Benefit Fund, which is supported by jail phone charges and a portion of commissary sales, to Fairfax, Virginia-based Good News Jail and Prison Ministries, which provides chaplain and religious support to inmates in the county jail.
* A contract for $500,000 to support the Lincoln Parks Foundation for renovation of Centennial Mall. County officials earmarked the dollars from the Lancaster County Visitors Improvement Fund back in 2011 to help jump-start fundraising efforts for the Centennial Mall renovation. The contract approved Tuesday was a formality.
*ÌýThe purchase of an outdoor warning siren for $26,975 from Schmader Electric Construction of West Point. The siren will be placed at the Lancaster Event Center, which is on the fringe of the county’s existing siren system.
*ÌýPurchase of two Ford midsize utility vehicles for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at a cost of $29,539 each. One will be bought with forfeited asset funds and the other will be paid for with general funds to be reimbursed through an insurance payment.