Winneshiek County officials have heard an initial offer from the insurance company which covers Sinclair MIlling of Parkersburg--the owner of the feed grain semi-trailer which caused May's crash of the Dahly Bridge northwest of Bluffton.
The offer is for just under $60,000, plus $39,000 to cover the clean-up costs from the bridge collapse.
The insurance company based its offer on a statement that the bridge "had 15 percent of its useful life left" at the time of the crash. That would place the value of the bridge at just under $400,000. That figure does NOT represent replacement value, but is an estimate of the bridge's value at the time of the crash. County officials estimate it would cost $1.2 million to build a new bridge.
County supervisors on Monday said the insurance company's offer was a "low ball" figure and the company should also take into consideration the driver negligence which led to the crash of the bridge, as well as the bridge's historic value.
"I can't see how the insurance company can get out of this," said supervisor Floyd Ashbacher.
The county board agreed to forward the insurance company's letter to County Attorney Andy Vander Maaten. "This is going to drag on," predicted County Board Chair John Logsdon.