Wrestling with bridge problems
Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
The Weston County Commissioners have asked to view cost estimates for solutions to the Black Thunder Bridge safety issues before they determine the best solution.
On May 7, Weston County Road and Bridge Supervisor Rick Williams advised the commissioners that, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the bridge was unusable for vehicles over a certain weight. WYDOT inspected the bridge after its closure in early April.
Williams said that several safety issues have caused the closure of the bridge, which is located on Cheyenne River Road, also known as Weston County Road No. 54, at milepost 11.90. The bridge is locked on both ends, with only landowners having access by key to cross the bridge if their load is not over 10,000 pounds, or 5 tons, as instructed by WYDOT on April 9.
On April 17, Weston County requested to switch bridge replacement priority to the Black Thunder Bridge instead of the bridge over BNSF Railroad.
Flooding of the creek under the bridge is also an issue, according to landowner Alan Slagle.
“The creek runs a lot, and the problem is when it runs, it doesn’t just run a little. Flooding like this year is pretty common, and probably three to four times a year, it runs similar to that,” Slagle said. “At least once every year.”
Williams mentioned several options, including a detour around the bridge, replacing the bridge with culverts, a
low water crossing and a Big
R Bridge installation. Cost estimates for all alternatives were not available at the time of the meeting.
“To keep a detour open for that long …, I think we are just asking for problems,” Williams said. “We are talking five to six years for a detour to stay open, so I looked at and called Big R Bridge.”
Big R Bridge, located in Greeley, Colorado, manufactures prefab bridges.
According to Williams, the cost for a single-lane Big R Bridge, to replace the current bridge, would be $150,000 for a 100-foot structure and $211,000 for a 120-foot bridge delivered to Weston County.
“The creek channel right there is about 100-foot, so I think 100-foot bridge would do it but 120-foot would be better,” Williams said. “I think that is going to be the cheapest, quickest way to get these people (landowners living on the other side of the bridge) in and out of the area.”
Williams estimated that the Big R Bridge, once installed, would cost the county somewhere between $350,000 and $400,000.
“We also talked about pouring concrete for a low water crossing, but that will amount to about the same cost as a bridge,” Williams said. “I know it would just be a single-lane bridge but that is what is there now.”
Williams said he figures a two-lane bridge would be approximately double the cost of the single lane bridge.
Commissioner Marty Ertman said she had safety concerns with a one-lane bridge and asked if the Wyoming Department of Transportation would think about a one-way bridge in the area, with the understanding that there is industrial traffic in the area.
“Looking at long-term strategy, I would like to see us go for a better bridge,” Ertman said.
Engineer Jerry Hunt, with Weston Engineering, stated that the county “ought to look at pricing one of them (Big R Bridges) as a two-lane bridge,” saying that it could be permanent.
“If you are brining in a modular, it would double the concrete but not the labor necessarily and the same with the crane,” Hunt said. “It is all going to depend on if you have the funds available.”
Hunt said that culverts large enough to fix the problem would be considered a bridge and requires the same inspections as a bridge.
“Personally speaking, I see the advantage of getting it (the bridge issue) taken care of sooner rather than later,” Commissioner Nathan Todd said. “I would like to see a cost analysis comparing culverts to a bridge.”
Ertman said that she believes the most important issue is what the Wyoming Department of Transportation thinks about it.
“We have to find out what they are going to allow us to do,” Ertman said, adding that WYDOT may not allow the county to use culverts over a bridge.
“We can say all day we want to put something in, but if the DOT will not put their stamp of approval on it, it doesn’t matter,” Ertman said.
Ertman said that money is also a problem, in her opinion, because fixes for the issue are expensive.
“It’s not that I don’t want to do it. I think it is very important. I want to make sure it is fully understood that there might not be money for other road problems,” Ertman said.
Todd agreed, saying that if the county “dumps a half million into a bridge,” another family will complain that they can’t get a blade on their road.
“It is going to whatever is most cost effective and makes the most sense,” Todd said.
“I don’t think we know what we don’t know,” Ertman said. “We need to get some answers here about what we can do.”
The commissioners asked Williams to prepare estimates for the alternatives to the bridge replacement, as well as details on the other alternatives for the commissioners to review before a final decision is made.
In a letter dated May 9 to the Wyoming Department of Transportation assistant state bridge engineer Paul Cortez, Williams stated that he anticipated this analysis to be completed and presented to the commission at their meeting on May 21.
“My department is preparing an analysis based on three options being: The B.R.O.S. program, low water crossings and a bridge designed and installed by Big R Company,” Williams said in the letter, noting that he will keep the department of transportation updated on the bridge.
According to the WYDOT website, the B.R.O.S. program is a bridge replacement “off system” program that helps to replace eligible bridges that are unsafe due to structural deficiencies, physical deterioration and/or function obsolescence.
“The B.R.O.S. program is a federally funded bridge replacement program to reduce the number of deficient off-system bridges. It applies to bridges owned by cities, towns and counties, located on a non-federal aid roadway and open to the public,” the website states.