"How much insurance money will Winneshiek County get for the destroyed Dahly Bridge?"

Winneshiek county Engineer Lee Bjerke says he has already met with an insurance inspector working for Sinclair Milling of Parkersburg about the accident that destroyed the Dahly Bridge over the Upper Iowa River.

The adjustor got a chance late last week to personally see the remains of the bridge.  Bjerke says the insurance company is promising to pay Winneshiek county the value of the bridge.  Of course, determining the exact value of a three-ton load limit bridge built in 1874 could be a challenge.

Bjerke says he has gotten an informal bid of $912,000 to build a new bridge over the river.  That doesn't mean Winneshiek County will be getting a check for $912,000, however.  County supervisor Mark Kuhn says it's just like what happens in a car crash--"If you crash an old car, the insurance company doesn't pay for you to get a new one."

In other words, the insurance company will be paying what it thinks the value of the bridge was when the driver from Sinclair Milling drove over the bridge, ignoring the 3-ton load limit signs.  There's certain to be further discussion about that figure.