Starke County Commissioners Move Ahead with Bridge Repairs

County bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch

The Starke County Commissioners made a decision to move forward with repairs to Bridge #156 over the Robbins Ditch at 400 North and Range Road. The heavily traveled bridge was recently closed by an emergency order.

The State had approved a plan to rebuild the bridge but that would have meant two years of the structure being down.

Lee Nagai, a farmer and licensed engineer, approached the Commissioners with an idea of just replacing the deck. With approval from the DNR, that could be accomplished in a shorter amount of time. The project would need to be financed with local funds but it would not be more than the 20% match for the state money.

Ken Minott, who has worked with the Commissioners before, will be preparing the documents for the DNR to consider replacing the deck.