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Baker's Camp Bridge rehab complete
With the Baker's Camp Covered Bridge having reopened to traffic in June, a rehabilitation project on the historic Floyd Township bridge officially became complete when the Putnam County Commissioners signed off on it during their Tuesday meeting.
Their signatures officially close a $1.098 million project that was approved in 2011 and was proposed several years earlier still.
Grant money from the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program funded $873,439.86, or 80 percent of the cost.
In footing the bill for the remaining $218,359.97, the county gets what appears to be a whole new bridge. The project included replacing the tin roof; repairing or replacing damaged structural elements; repairing damaged siding; tuck-pointing the joints in the stone abutments; painting the siding, truss members, arches and cross bracing; and adding a fire retardant to all wooden parts of the bridge.
Echoing work completed last year on Houck Covered Bridge in Washington Township, the project also replaced metal guardrails on both approaches to the bridge with more aesthetically-consistent timber guardrails.
"I don't know if anyone has been up there since they finished, but they did a really nice job on that," Commissioner David Berry said Tuesday.
Construction on the bridge left it closed for nearly 10 months. The road was closed on Aug. 11, 2014 and reopened on June 1 of this year. The final date of work was June 15.
Duncan Robertson Inc. was the prime contractor, with Clark Dietz Inc. Engineers overseeing the project.
Besides the long process of engineering, letting and construction, Putnam County waited several years to even obtain funding for the project. Turned down by the federal program in 2008, officials were strongly encouraged to reapply in May 2011.
Prior to these repairs, the last major work on the bridge had been in 1985, when decking and floor beams were replaced.
Built in 1901, Baker's Camp Covered Bridge carries County Road 650 North across Big Walnut Creek. The bridge spans 100 feet between its stone abutments.
Questioned by a citizen about another bridge project, Putnam County Higway Supervisor Mike Ricketts reported that Dunbar Road should be reopened in the near future.
Ricketts met with the contractors last week regarding work on Bridge 104, which is just northwest of Dunbar Covered Bridge. He was told it would be "a couple weeks" before work was completed.
"All they are waiting on is grass seed," Ricketts said.
"Really?" Commissioner Rick Woodall interjected.
"You can't make this stuff up," Ricketts said with a laugh.
Equipment remains on the site for the removal of riprap stone prior to the seeding of the ground.
Ricketts also gave a progress report, saying that paving crews are nearly done with County Road 1000 South east of Cloverdale and will then go back to 700 South in Jefferson Township. Chip-and-seal crews have one more road to do before moving on to sealing work on Heritage Drive and Bainbridge-Roachdale Road.
Asked about pothole problems, Ricketts said manpower will be freed up to patch potholes when chip and seal work is complete.
"What set us back was the rain (in July) then we had to put everybody on paving," Ricketts said.
In other business:
* The county will no longer pay for the security alarm at the former Putnam County Annex. The county had been paying $267 annually for the service for the last several years while never actually utilizing the alarm.
On a motion by Woodall, the three members unanimously voted to pay the bill through this month before discontinuing the service.
Officials had continued to pay the bill under the mistaken understanding it was a fire alarm.
* Commissioners approved the hiring of two part-time jail officers.