HENRY COUNTY: Supervisors debate future of bridges on gravel roads

Decaying bridges on gravel roads in Henry County have supervisors questioning if it is worth the time and money to fix the bridges or to vacate the roads all together.

County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss brought the issue to the Henry County Board of Supervisors’s attention on Tuesday.

“Bridge 75 on 180th Street and Bridge 88 on 215th Street both need new postings on their weight capacity,” Hotchkiss said. “Both bridges have further deterioration of pile decay, and it’s the advice of the bridge inspector that we put up postings for the new weight limits.”

The weight limits for both bridges were 18 tons, but Bridge 75 dropped to 6 tons and Bridge 88 dropped to 12 tons. New sign postings were approved by the Board of Supervisors at the meeting.

When discussing the deteriorating bridges, Supervisor Marc Lindeen asked a question that sparked a dialogue about the future of the bridges and their roads.

“I’m not against it, I just want to think about the whole big picture,” he said. “Is there a reason we would ever want to close those roads instead?”

“It’s definitely a discussion we’ll have to have when we get to that point of how we’ll move forward,” Hotchkiss said. “My opinion on dirt roads is run them down until we can’t.

“On both of these roads, you’ve got access from either direction. When we’re looking at the long-term solution of our system, does it warrant putting in another bridge back on a dirt road,” he said.

Hotchkiss said the county could look at other options, such a a low-water crossing structure, but if those are not viable “then I think having that hard conversation about whether we’ll close the road or not will happen.”

Hotchkiss will need to do some research before he can recommend what steps the county should make in regards to the two bridges and roads’ future. Then, it will be up to the supervisors to make the final call.

“When you have a road right next to it, it’s that same question of should you maintain it or not,” Hotchkiss said. “Most people probably aren’t going to care, but if you live on either side of the road or use that road for your farming, then you do care.”