MIAMI COUNTY — Miami County Engineer Paul Huelskamp recently discussed the county’s ongoing task of maintaining its 342 bridges, going over the major bridge projects that took place in 2019 and the projects still to come in 2020 during his annual engineer’s report to the Board of Miami County Commissioners.
In 2019, the two major bridge replacement projects included the replacement of the Fenner Road Bridge No. 2.50 in Newton Township, located approximately 2,500 feet east of Shiloh Road. The bridge, which was in poor condition due to the deterioration of the corrugated steel pipes, was replaced with a four-side precast concrete box culvert, according to Huelskamp. The project was competitively bid and awarded to Lindsay Precast, Inc. in the amount of $74,244. The total cost of the project was approximately $131,898, and it was funded by the Miami County Bridge Levy.
The Miami County Bridge Levy is a 0.45-mill, five-year levy that generates approximately $922,270 per year for the replacement and repair of the county’s bridge system. The levy has been in place since 1951. It was last renewed in 2015, and is expected to return to voters again this November.
The other major project from 2019 was the replacement of the Miami-Shelby West Road Bridge No. 7.22 in Washington Township, located 2,800 feet west of State Route 66. That bridge was also replaced with a four-side precast concrete box culvert. The project was also awarded to Lindsay Precast, Inc. in the amount of $59,842. The total cost was approximately $106,395.
Also in 2019, the county completed the Range Line Road Bridge No. 13.52 rehabilitation project, which repaired the concrete deck. The project was awarded to Bridge Specialists, Inc. in the amount of approximately $156, 727, but the project cost was reduced by approximately $1,060 after the final quantities and materials were totaled.
The county also replaced the Sodom Road Bridge No. 1.25 with county-manufactured concrete beams. County personnel also constructed new abutments for the bridge. The total cost of the project was approximately $104,352.
Bridge projects to come
In 2020, the two major bridge replacement projects include the Croft Mill Road Bridge No. 0.37 and the Troy-Urbana Road Bridge No. 4.71.
The Croft Mill Road bridge project will be 100 percent federally funded. The project was awarded to Brumbaugh Construction, Inc. in the amount of $1,109,943. The Croft Mill Road Bridge No. 0.37 is an existing painted steel truss bridge that will be replaced with a galvanized steel truss bridge. The project is expected to begin this summer with a completion date of no later than Oct. 20.
The Troy-Urbana Road bridge project will be bid out in June. It will partially be funded by the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC), with the OPWC funding approximately $300,000 and the county funding approximately $150,000.
Three other bridges also scheduled to be replaced in 2020, including the Harrison Street Bridge No. 0.17, the work for which is currently underway.
“That one was closed due to problems that were encountered during a routine bridge inspection that we have every year,” Huelskamp said. The Harrison Street bridge is an existing prestressed box beam bridge that will be rehabbed with new, precast concrete beams. The project will also place a new layer of concrete on the surface of the bridge’s abutment. The estimated cost is $150,000. The Harrison Street project is expected to be done by July.
“The plan is we got to get it done before the fair,” Huelskamp said.
“We’ve also got a bridge on Markley Road that we’re going to be working on.” The Markley Road Bridge No. 2.10, which is an existing steel beam bridge, will be replaced with prestressed concrete beams and new abutments. The estimated cost for this project is $160,000.
The third is Perry Road Bridge No. 0.90, which is an existing steel beam bridge that will be replaced with county-poured beams and new abutments. The estimated cost for that project is $95,000.”
“We poured beams in-house for that over the winter,” Huelskamp said.
