The Starke County Commissioners and Starke County Council discussed Bridge 13 funding in a special session meeting Friday, March 7.
Highway Department Superintendent Rachel Oesterreich explained to the Starke County Commissioners during their meeting Monday, March 3 that Bridge 13 on 600 N. over the Robbins Ditch is slated for replacement as it is one of two deficient bridges in the county. The county is seeking a federal grant for the project, however she noted there are less funds than projected for the NOFA call for projects.
She further stated that grant officials are looking for upwards of $415,000 for the project engineer for this project. It is typically an 80/20 split with the state, with the county paying 20 percent, but she asked the commissioners if they would be interested in putting forth half of the cost to be paid out of the Cumulative Bridge Fund for 2029 or 2030 – whenever the bridge is constructed. The increased amount paid by the county would not guarantee a grant award.
The estimated cost of the bridge replacement is $3.182 million.
The state has to know by March 12 whether or not the county will put forth 50 percent of the cost.
During the special meeting March 7, Oesterreich presented a few options. She said the county could just put in the regular grant application with no extra funds and see if the county is awarded the grant, offer the extra money for the preliminary engineering, see if a different type of structure could be built by the county with the use of Community Crossings Matching Grant funds, or pay for the structure with county funds.
In the end, the commissioners decided to see if the grant could be awarded with no extra funding and see how to fund other options if the county is not granted the award. Oesterreich noted that money is already approved for the grant so no further action would need to be taken. The commissioners did approve a motion to go forward with the 80/20 federal grant.
