By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
It takes an awful lot of bridges to crisscross the drained Great Black Swamp’s ditches and creeks – 441 bridges to be exact.
And it takes an awful lot of money to keep those bridges in good repair. So once again Tuesday, officials from the Wood County Engineer’s Office came to the county commissioners to seek funding for bridge design.
Since the county began receiving casino tax revenue, the commissioners have dedicated those funds to bridge design. Last year, $615,997 was put toward design costs. The actual bridge construction is then funded by the engineer’s office.
Even with that, it’s difficult to keep up with repairs, according to Joan Cherry, of the engineer’s office. All bridges in the county are inspected annually and then appraised on a scale of 0 (failed) to 9 (excellent), she explained. Last year’s inspections found one bridge in failed condition; 4 critical; 15 serious; 52 poor; 45 fair; 78 satisfactory; 110 good; 88 very good; and 48 excellent.
“I would love for all of them to be a 4 or higher,” Cherry said. The rankings continue to slip as the years pass. Once they hit the “serious” 3 ranking, “they start to go on the replacement list.”
Construction costs also continue to rise each year, with a small box culvert bridge costing about $150,000. The average bridge costs $350,000 to replace, while the larger structures can cost close to $1 million, Cherry reported.
With the minimum lifespan for a bridge being 50 years, and more than 70 bridges currently ranked at “poor or worse,” Commissioner Craig LaHote asked if the county needs to plan accordingly. “Should we be anticipating we will have to fund this at a higher level in coming years?”
That’s hard to determine, Cherry said. “Some years you may only get a handful that drop down” in the ratings.
Top on the list of structures needing replacement are the following bridges. The estimated cost for designing all these bridges is $995,000.
- Poe Road east of Rangeline Road.
- Mermill Road, west of Huffman Road.
- Huffman Road north of Mermill Road.
- East Broadway north of Ohio 795.
- Hammansburg Road east of Roundhead Road.
- Pemberville Road south of Latcha Road.
- Anderson Road south of Ohio 199.
- Stony Ridge Road north of Ohio 582.
- Bays Road west of Rudolph Road.
- Rangeline Road north of Kellogg Road.
- Weston Road south of Ohio 65.
Bridges designed or being designed with $615,997 in casino tax revenue last year include:
- Luckey Road south of Strail Road.
- Long Judson Road west of Milton Road.
- Jerry City Road west of Milton Road.
- Bays Road west of Liberty Hi Road.
- Insley Road south of Needles Road.
- Kramer Road west of Shinew Road.
- South River Road east of Wayne Road.
The engineer’s office encountered some problems with the Insley Road bridge replacement, near North Baltimore. Since the bridge is on the National Historic Registry, the new structure must have faux arches. Those arches will cost an extra $300,000, bumping the replacement cost up to $900,000.
The bridge on Long Judson Road, west of Bowling Green, was also deemed historic, so alternative design plans are underway.
The commissioners asked about the logic of replacing some of the very small rural bridges, that may only see 20 cars a day. Cherry said the engineer’s office takes the traffic volume into consideration, plus whether or not the bridge is essential for emergency traffic.
“You have to make decisions like that,” she said.
