Winneshiek County is making progress on repairing bridges

Contracts for projects to replace three more bridges in Winneshiek County should arrive early this week from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The IADOT opened bids last week on two bridges on County A-14 and one bridge over Pine Creek.  Brennan Construction of Lansing has the low bid of $321,637.50 for the two bridges on County A-14, while Minnowa Construction had the low bid of $417,779.55 on the bridge over Pine Creek.

Supervisor Mark Kuhn on Monday called the figures "good bids," while County Engineer Lee Bjerke said simply, "I was happy."

Meanwhile, a bridge over 380th Street has re-opened to traffic.  The county also has learned a federal review board has approved plans to extend a culvert on North Winn Road near Seed Savers--guaranteeing the project will qualify for federal funding.

County officials say a total of 23 structures in Winneshiek County are being replaced this year.  That's significant progress in dealing with the deficient bridges in the county, but county officials say the situation will require a number of years of work to deal with all the bridges that need fixing.