The Starke County Commissioners will open bids on Monday, Oct. 21 for a new bridge on County Road 700 East.
A bridge will replace a failed culvert on that road between County Road 600 North and County Road 750 North. The culvert collapse was discovered in mid-June.
Mark Wilson from Jones, Petrie and Rafinski looked at the issue the day it occurred and delivered recommendations for repair which included the installation of a box culvert, twin culverts or a bridge. After much deliberation, Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler determined that only a bridge could fix the issue due to poor soils in the area.
The bridge project could cost around $300,000.
Ritzler commented to the Starke County Commissioners this week that Wilson worked hard in the past month-and-a-half to get the design done so the project could be put out to bid and completed by the end of the year.
