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Railroad Bridge progress to continue as weather cooperates
Already beset by delays beyond the control of the builder, a project to replace a railroad bridge in Madison Township is not necessarily stopping for the winter months.
When Bridge 276, which carries County Road 400 West (Saddle Club Road) over the CSX Railroad, closed last March, it was supposed to reopen in 160 days, which would have put the reopening date in mid-August.
Then August came and went … as did September, October, November, December and with it, 2022 altogether.
Each time County Engineer Jim Peck gave an update on the work, he had the misfortune of reporting yet another delay that was beyond his control. For that matter, the delays were generally beyond the control of the Indiana Department of Transportation, engineers Clark Dietz and contractor White Construction.
While a mechanical problem with a crane was the problem at one point, the delays generally traced back to CSX, whether it was failure to provide a needed flagger for work to go on over the railroad or railroad representatives saying they did not know that the construction project would involve pile driving.
The last time Peck gave an update, it was to say last month that a winter shutdown was looming after beams were installed, with work set to resume on or after April 1.
That may not be the case, though. Peck said that if the weather remains mild, White will not opt to take the winter shutdown that is allowed by INDOT.
“Weather dependent, if it’s still mild, they’ll probably get the deck poured,” Peck told the Putnam County Commissioners during their first meeting of 2023 on Tuesday.
While the Commissioners were pleased with progress continuing, David Berry expressed concern about the concrete curing properly in cold weather.
Peck assured him that Clark Dietz remains on site to inspect the concrete, so he was confident about quality assurance.
Elsewhere in Madison Township, Peck is looking toward two future projects for bridges on West Walnut Street Road. The county will apply for federal bridge preservation funding for Bridge 109 over Little Walnut Creek and Bridge 112 over Big Walnut Creek.
Bridge 109 lies just west of the Madison Township Fire Department, and 112 is just east of the intersection with Creek Road.
The plan would be to rehabilitate the concrete decks of each bridge, both of which were built in the 1960s.
For an estimated combined price of $1 million, of which the county’s portion would be about $200,000, the life of the bridges would be extended by 30-35 years.
“Doing preservation is going to be good for these two bridges,” Peck said.
As federal aid projects, the process would take several years, meaning work would not begin before 2028.
Peck also shared good news regarding another federal aid proposal, saying he had interviewed earlier that morning with INDOT officials regarding a proposed bypass and rehabilitation of Dunbar Covered Bridge in Greencastle Township.
He said the meeting went well, and that he hopes to know something by the end of January.
Like the proposed rehab projects, Dunbar construction would likely take place in 2028.
In other business:
- Peck recommended that the Commissioners stay with Co-Alliance for its fuel bid for 2023. When bids were opened last month, the county had two bids for the first time in several years, one from Co-Alliance and one from Petroleum Traders Corp.
While the competition was encouraging to county officials, Peck noted that the prices were ultimately similar, but that other factors, such as the familiarity of delivery drivers with the county’s setup, made him more comfortable with Co-Alliance.
In the case of Petroleum Traders, delivery would be handled by whatever company provided the lowest price to the broker.
- The Commissioners and Peck will meet in a special session at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11 to discuss 2023 paving projects, which are likely to be limited by the annual budget.
A story regarding other matters discussed at the first Putnam County Commissioners meeting of 2023 will be posted at a later date.