Engineer tells county collapsed bridge not repairable
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com

Following a discussion concerning the replacement of a bridge that recently collapsed, Precinct 2 Commissioner Chris King announced the county will be getting a different bridge replaced for free.

Discussing the collapsed bridge, located on CR 235 above Peach Creek, King said he met with an insurance adjuster and an engineer, who told him, "This bridge is toast."

King said Wharton County-based Wakefield Construction submitted an estimate of $135,000 to replace the bridge with the county furnishing the beams.

Based on that estimate, the commissioner authorized awarding the contract to Wakefield pending receiving notice from the insurance company the county will be reimbursed for the work. The motion was approved on an emergency basis.

"It is a health and safety issue," King said. "The barricades on the road can be dislodged and someone could drive off the end of the road into the creek bed."

Law enforcement reports state the bridge was damaged on Oct. 10 when a crane from North Houston Pole Co. drove over the wood bridge and collapsed a portion of it. The driver was later ticketed for not heeding a posted bridge weight limit of 12,500 lbs. The crane reportedly weighed 170,000 lbs.

Hoping to avoid a similar bridge collapse, King said Cypress Oil and Gas offered to replace the wood bridge crossing the West Bernard River at CR 254 with a steel structure. The estimated cost of the new bridge is $243,000.

"They are hoping to develop new well fields in that area and currently don't have a way to get to them," King said. "None of the county roads leading to the area have bridges that can support the weight of the equipment, which weighs up to 200,000 lbs. So they picked the most direct route with one bridge."

In addition to being made of steel, the new bridge will be about 18-inches higher than the current bridge. County crews will need to raise the roadway to the new level of the bridge. In addition, King said his precinct would pay for having the bridge sand blasted and painted to prevent rust and extend its life.

The commissioner said the timing of the company's offer couldn't have been better.

"I had actually already purchased the lumber to make some repairs on the bridge," he said. "But we hadn't started the work so I can save the lumber for other projects. I would have felt bad if the work had already been done, but as it is, there was no way I was going to pass up an offer like this."

King said his crews will also need to remove the existing bridge before the new one can be constructed.

The demolition work will begin Monday and take about eight weeks.

It will be the first in a series of four bridge projects the county currently has scheduled with Wakefield. Next will be a burned Precinct 4 bridge crossing CR 418 at Tres Palacios Creek , followed by the replacement of King's collapsed bridge on CR 235, and then the replacement of a bridge across CR 308 at Stage Stand Creek, the first project actually planned, bumped to the back of the schedule.

The commissioners also approved contracting with Aerial Enterprises for aerial photographs of the Wharton County Courthouse and all four of the precinct barns at a cost of $1,936. As part of the agreement, County Judge John Murrile said he would negotiate with the company to photograph the new Precinct 1 barn location after it is built.

In other actions, the commissioners:

• Approved a resolution declaring Oct. 28 to Nov. 3 Drug Awareness Week in Louise and Oct. 31 as Drug Free Day in the Louise ISD.

• Approved authorizing Murrile to sign for the 2008 Indigent Defense Grant Program. County Auditor Sharon Boedeker told the court she expects the county to receive about $21,000 through the program this year.