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Bridge 276 saga finally at an end
It started in March 2022 as what was supposed to be a closure of about five months.
On Monday, the long struggle of replacing Bridge 276 in Madison Township formally came to an end.
Though the bridge reopened to traffic in late May, the Putnam County Commissioners finally signed documents during their regular meeting to bring the federal aid project to a close.
Besides signing off on the final punchlist, which had been approved by both County Engineer Jim Peck and a CSX Railroad representative, the commissioners also approved a pair of changeorders on the project.
The first of these was a technicality a long time coming, extending the final date for contractor White Construction to Oct. 19.
The second was approving a reduction of $27,457 to the final cost of the bridge. This amount was returned to the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) which administers federal aid projects.
Since the county has already paid its 20 percent share of the project, Peck said he will be requesting the county’s share of the refund — $5,491.40.
Peck will be making a much larger request of the railroad company, in the form of a $90,000 refund.
CSX, which was the chief cause of most of the delays to the project, charged the county $124,962 in extra fees on the project due to the extra time its flaggers had to spend on the job site.
While the county paid this cost to the railroad, Peck said his department has received only about $33,000 in invoices for these fees.
Regardless of the outcome, County Road 400 West (Saddleclub Road) has a new crossing over the railway, one that looks better and is certainly safer than the 1908 model it replaced.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved a $90,680.86 changeorder on the 2023 Community Crossings project.
The work on County Road 700/800 South wound up being more extensive than expected when dump trucks accessing the Martin Marietta Cloverdale Quarry did not have access to U.S. 231 for several days.
This was due to work on U.S. 231, which forced the trucks to travel west and north from the quarry, causing extra damage to the road.
However, the relatively brief period over which the 231 work took place left the county holding the bag. Debbie Calder, deputy commissioner of the INDOT Crawfordsville District, recently told Peck that because the closure of the U.S. highway was less than five days, the state is not required to declare a local detour.
“INDOT is basically not going to pay for any of the repairs even though their closure caused significant damage to our road,” Peck said.
While the commissioners had several questions, they reluctantly approved paying the extra money.
• Heard from Peck regarding radios for trucks for the Putnam County Highway Department. While an original estimate for radios was more than Peck or the commissioners would like to pay, he has been working with 911 Dispatch Director Dave Costin, who said there could be some old police and fire radios available for the trucks.
A solution has not yet been chosen, but Peck will move forward in pursuing this option.
• Signed an agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management to lease six new pickups for the highway department, replacing several that were 15 or more years old.
The trucks will come at an annual cost of $81,995.76 for six new trucks.
While the lease will be administered by Enterprise, the county will work with two local vendors as well — York Automotive for maintenance/dealer’s inventory and JTN for emergency lights.
• Approved an on-call agreement between the Putnam County Health Department and attorney Eric Oliver of Danville.
Although County Attorney Jim Ensley represents the county’s interests in most matters, the Board of Health requested an attorney who has a public health focus.
Pointing out that the county already has Ensley, Commissioner David Berry dissented to the 2-1 vote.
The commissioners are also considering a request from health department Assistant Administrator Brian Williams to pay $10,151.70 for extra security measures at the health department office.
Following veiled threats from members of the public, the new measures include an alternate exit to the office, located in the Putnam County Hospital office building, and a badge-controlled entrance to the employee office area.
Williams requested that the commissioners and county council find a way to pay for the added security, considering recent additional security measures at the Putnam County Courthouse.
“I know employee safety has been a big concern for you guys,” Williams said. ”I didn’t know if you wanted to take this opportunity to show that it’s not just courthouse employees.”
The commissioners as well as council members who were in attendance seemed generally in favor of paying for the improvements. However, since the property is owned by Putnam County Hospital rather than the county, there are questions over what funding source is appropriate.