Starke County Highway Superintendent Steve Siddall presented the county commissioners this week with an update on the progress of repairs on Bridge 51, located on County Road 700 South in North Bend Township. The commissioners had accepted a bid in July from LaPorte Construction to perform the replacement of the bridge at a cost of $224,328.25 – the lowest bid submitted.
According to Siddall, the bridge needed replaced because the wooden caps that had been installed on the bridge in the 1950s have crushed and failed, and he says this bridge was scheduled to be replaced in 2011.
Siddall told the commissioners that construction on the bridge has started. The bridge structure has been removed, and he says it was hauled out Monday. Work is still underway on placing a new bridge structure, and the Highway Department is also still dealing with cleanup operations from this weekend’s storm.
Siddall also presented the commissioners with two quotes for seal-coating to be performed in the parking lots of the county annex building and EMS bases. The lowest bid – that from Les Jensen – came in at $2076 to re-seal the parking lot at the annex building, and $1725 for the EMS base. Cumulative Capital funds will be used for the work on the annex building’s parking lot, but the EMS parking lot work will be funded by the EMS budget.
