Jefferson County plans two bridge replacements

FAIRFIELD – Jefferson County Engineer DeWayne Heintz said the county is preparing for a couple of bridge projects that will be financed mostly with federal dollars.

The two projects won’t begin until spring, and were both awarded money as part of a bundle of bridge projects with other counties. The two bridges that will be replaced are on 257th Street in the southern part of the county, and another over Burr Oak Creek on H28 or 146th Boulevard, southeast of Germanville.

“This was a contest that we won by losing,” Heintz explained. “By having a couple of the worst bridges in the state, it made us eligible for this program.”

Heintz said the secondary roads department has no active construction projects, and has been busy mostly with maintenance projects this past summer and into the fall. That has made for an easier transition for Heintz, who took the reins as county engineer on July 1, assuming the role previously held by Scott Cline.

Some of the maintenance work the county has done recently includes bridge rehabilitation on Mahogany Avenue north of 125th Street in the north central part of the county, and work on 110th Street.

Next year, the county will team with Maharishi Vedic City to replace a box culvert on 175th Street that’s at the edge of that town’s city limits. Each entity will cover 10 percent of the funding, and the other 80 percent will come from the state through its Farm to Market fund. The project will go out for bids in January.