Iowa County works on bridges

MARENGO — Work on a couple of Iowa County bridges has begun, Iowa County Engineer Nick Amelon said during a July 25 meeting of the Iowa County Supervisors,

Work on a bridge on D Avenue just north of 210th Street started this week, and the bridge on 108th Street north of Marengo has already been closed in preparation for installation of a culvert by the Iowa County secondary road crew.

The culvert is set to arrive Aug. 19, said Amelon, and the bridge will be out until around Labor Day.

Supervisor Abby Maas asked if it were normal for a bridge to be closed so long before the culvert is installed. The schedule is normal, said Amelon.

It takes a few days to get the bridge is out, Amelon said. Workers have to tear off the deck and then cut out the rebar, he said. They take one of the back walls out, then scrape out the muck and bring in gravel. They have to put in a pipe so water gets through.

Then work on the sides begins so the dozer can get down there, Amelon said. Workers make a bed where the crane is going to sit. Cranes are expensive, said Amelon. He wants to make sure that when it arrives, they are ready for it.

They try to get all of that done by a week before the culvert is ready, said Amelon. With a big rain, the project can go downhill fast.