decorahnews.com special report: "Sagging bridges, bumpy roads" Part 2

(Click on photos for larger images)

Bridge #354 on Scenic Drive in northern Winneshiek County is an attractive bridge crossing over the Upper Iowa River in a scenic location.  It's only when you make a closer inspection of the bridge that you see what has county highway officials concerned.

Abutments of the bridge have shifted in recent years.  That put pressure on the bridge, which caused girders to buckled somewhat in the middle of the span.

The bridge remains open to traffic, but with a weight load limit.  It is one of the bridges Winneshiek County would like to replace--but that list is fairly long.

County Engineer Lee Bjerke says Winneshiek County received a total of $782,000 in federal bridge aid this year--money that has to cover the entire county, along with the county bridge fund and city bridge fund money.

Bjerke says the county's road and bridge fund has varied from $7 million to $8 million in recent years, depending on the size of the road and bridge projects.  Roughly two-thirds of that money from the the state's road use tax receipts.  All other sources of funding--federal funds, local property tax receipts and one-time revenues such as FEMA flood repair funds--account for one-third of the local road budget.

That means any attempt to raise more money for county roads begins first with a discussion of the state's road use tax.  "That's our big ticket," says Bjerke, who is observing this week's legislative hearings on a proposed gas tax hike with great interest.

Bridge abutments have shifted and had to be shored up

Steel girders have twisted