Bridge repairs needed in county
BY KEITH LIPPOLDT
klippoldt@gbtribune.com
Barton County Engineer Barry McManaman will present information to the Commissioners at the upcoming Tuesday morning Commission meeting outlining the deterioration and what is necessary to alleviate the water issues of several county bridges.
Repair work that includes removing and replacing deteriorated grout lines and resetting limestone blocks to preserve the integrity of the stone is needed on the three native stone bridges north of Beaver.
The stone bridges which were built in the late 1930s and early 1940s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), also has areas of spalling concrete and exposed rusted reinforcing steel on the underside of the bridge decks that need concrete surface repair.
McManaman said the deterioration of the grout lines and limestone is worse on the lower rows of stone due to water erosion on the bridge wall throughout the years.
“The lower rows of stone are worse but the grout lines on the higher rows are deteriorating also,” he said. “All three need repairs, but the biggest one (OS 218) needs the most work.”
According to the Barton County Commissioners agenda, L&M Contractors, Inc. of Great Bend, has submitted a daily price of $5,305.00 that includes equipment, labor, supplies, insurance and taxes for the limestone block work. L&M’s price for concrete surface repair is at a unit cost of $170 per square foot. Estimating that the limestone block repair can be completed in 10 days, with concrete surface repair that could exceed $10,000.00, it is requested that L&M Contractors be approved for work not to exceed $65,000.
Additional bridge work
McManaman also said that Off-System Bridge No. 258, a reinforced concrete box structure that crosses Little Cheyenne Creek on NE 100 Avenue just south of NE 30 Road, has severe channel erosion on the downstream end of the box that requires a repair to prevent possible undermining of the structure.
The repairs, if approved, will be performed by L&M Contractors, Inc. and the Road and Bridge Department. L&M Contractors, Inc. submitted a cost proposal to install sheet pile across the channel on the downstream end and to place concrete between the end of the box and the sheet pile to form a protection wall. Road and Bridge will prepare the site by removing the existing riprap rock prior to L&M’s work and then reshape the riprap after L&M’s work is completed. L&M’s $44,730.00 proposal includes providing 43 feet of 3/8 inch sheet pile, driving it to a depth of 15 feet and placing the concrete. Their cost does not include the concrete, which is to be paid by the County, at an estimated cost less than $4,000.
Monies are available in the Special Bridge Fund for these projects.
Other items on the agenda include:
• Proclamation 2025-12: National Prevention Week: Tyler Morton, Prevention Advocate, 20th Judicial District Juvenile Services, will be joined by Central Kansas Partnership task force members and area teens to present this Proclamation.
• Proclamation 2025-13: Mental Health Awareness Month,
May, 2025: Holly Bowyer, Accounting Specialist, The Center, will present details. The Proclamation “details the prevalence of mental health conditions in our community and recognizes the need for intervention, awareness and inclusivity.”
• Proclamation 2025-14: National Bike Month, May, 2025: The Be Well Barton County committee members will present details. Throughout the month of May, citizens are urged to be mindful of bicyclists in an effort to reduce collisions, injuries and fatalities and improve health and safety for everyone on the road.
• Dereck Hollingshead, Information Technology Director, will present details on replacing certain computers at the Health Department. That included 16 Dell laptops, docks and privacy screens.
• In March, 2025, the Health Department received notice that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Public Health, awarded Barton County $21,155.00 as a part of the Family Planning Grant. County staff requested the funding to purchase, in part, an autoclave needed to sterilize Family Planning instruments. The autoclave (sterilizer) and software upgrade cost $5,397.96 from McKesson – just over the $5,000.00 purchasing threshold. The Commission will be asked to approve the purchase from the Public Health Family Planning Fund.
The meeting will be live-streamed through Microsoft Teams. Citizens may view it online at https://bit.ly/3ZuyQ9M.
