Prefab bridges "another option for us"

Oden Enterprises representative Jim Kilday met Wednesday afternoon with Winneshiek County supervisors to explain how his company's prefab bridges work.

County supervisors have agreed to purchase an "Oden bridge" to replace a defective bridge on county A-14.

Kilday told supervisors the prefab bridges have several advantages.  It takes just two or three weeks to install the entire bridge.  Work can also be done during the winter (although some finishing work would be done in the spring).  And the prefab bridges don't have to be square--they can also work on skewed roads.

Kilday told the supervisors the bridges "last for a long, long time"--if they're used on a road where road salt is not spread in the winter.

Two such bridges were installed recently near Postville in Allamakee County.

County Engineer Lee Bjerke says the prefab bridges aren't appropriate for all situations, but they are "another option for us."  The prefab bridge the county will install on A-14 will cost about half what a concrete culvert bridge would cost--a big reason county supervisors decided to use the "Oden bridge" in that situation.