RICHLAND COUNTY — Richland County commissioners on Thursday approved bridge replacement bids totaling just more than $1 million.
The approvals came during a meeting with county Engineer Adam Gove, who also received approval to seek state grants for road resurfacing efforts in 2024 and additional future bridge replacements.
The more expensive of the two bridges approved Thursday is for a span on Brubaker Creek Road near the border of Franklin and Weller townships in the northern half of the county.
Gove said five bids were submitted for the project, which he had estimated at $543,517.
The lowest bid was from the Crawford Construction Co. from Galion at $624,097. Previously, that bid would have been rejected since it was more than 10 percent higher than the estimate.
The low bid in this instance is 14.8 percent higher than estimated.
However, under a new Ohio law that went into effect Oct. 3, bids less than 20 percent above estimate are now acceptable for a “county, township, municipal corporation, school district, special purpose district, or other political subdivision or a public board, commission, authority, or instrumentality of the political subdivision.”
“We had five bidders. Three of those were pretty close. So I think this is representative of the work that needs to happen,” Gove said commissioners awarded the contract.
Gove said work on the new bridge will likely begin in the spring and the road will be closed for 60 to 90 days while the work is done.
He said the current 37-foot bridge was built in 1969 and consists of steel beams on concrete abutments. The new span will be 58 feet and will be concrete box beams on concrete abutments.
The engineer said grants from the Ohio Dept. of Transportation and the County Engineers Association of Ohio are funding 95 percent of the cost for the work.
Commissioners also awarded a $444,512 contract to R&I Construction from Tiffin to replace a bridge on Reinhardt Road, which Gove said submitted the lowest of eight bids.
His estimate was $442,891 for the project.
The current 23-foot bridge in Jefferson Township near Possum Run Road was built in 1954 and consists of steel beams on timber abutments.
“We will be replacing it with a 45-foot span (with a) concrete box beam structure on concrete abutments,” the engineer said.
He said the work will also likely begin in the spring and will close the road for two to three months while the project is completed.
Gove said a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission will fund about 45 percent of the work with the remainder coming from his department’s budget.
Gove received authority to seek up to $500,000 in OPWC funds for road resurfacing in 2024 planned to include 15 miles on seven different county roads
The grant would cover about 40 percent of a resurfacing program Gove estimates will cost about $1.25 million.
The engineer was given authority to also apply for OPWC money for five future bridge replacements. Funds being sought would pay for an estimated 40 percent of those projects.
Commissioners also approved a resolution to allow the county to enter into an agreement with the CEAO/ODOT to fund an estimated 95 percent of the costs for a future project to replace a bridge on Shoup Road in Plymouth Township.
“The current project cost for construction and inspection is $731,600,” Gove said.
“This is just a very preliminary estimate because there are no plans at this point. This is just the initial application. Funding for that project wouldn’t be available until 2028, I believe,” Gove said.
