County moves forward on bridge work
The Putnam County Commissioners opened two bids for work on bridges damaged in the flood of 2008 at Monday's meeting.
Trisler Construction Company, Indianapolis, bid $398,734.50 for work on the 26 bridges included in the project. CLR Inc., Bloomington, bid $421,926.50.
The bridge project is funded by a $477,000 grant from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). With engineer costs already spent from the grant, $339,000 remains.
Upon reviewing the two bids, Mike Obergfell of USI Consultants, the engineering firm working with the county on the project, recommended the commissioners tentatively award the project to Trisler. The work cannot be awarded outright until approved by OCRA.
In the meantime, Obergfell plans to review the plans with Trisler and find a way to cut approximately $60,000 from the cost of the repairs.
"I know them well enough that I think they would work with you," Commissioner Gene Beck said.
The commissioners approved tentatively awarding the project to Trisler.
The commissioners spoke with county highway co-supervisors Jim Smith and Clint Maddox on services that might be cut in order to get more roadwork done this year.
One suggestion was not to fund any dust control measures on county roads this year. Instead, the money and time spent on such measures will be redirected to fixing roads.
"I think we better save that money to patch the holes in our blacktop," Beck said.
Additionally, Beck advised the highway to seriously limit the amount of mowing done on roadsides, concentrating their efforts on curves, blind spots and intersections. The move, approved unanimously, will save gas money and time.
The highway also submitted an estimate on replacing its server, which crashed recently. The commissioners balked at the $6,980 price tag submitted by HOP. Instead, they recommended getting more estimates to see what the best price might be.