Bridges
The past year has proven to be a productive one
regarding the maintenance and improvement of bridge
infrastructure in Ottawa County. Diligent efforts by
County engineering and maintenance staff have resulted
in further improvement of our bridge inventory. Ottawa
County continues to maintain a total of 116 bridges, with
104 bridges (90%) currently rating fair or above.
Annual inspection of all county bridges has been
completed for 2013 and the resulting documentation
reported to ODOT as required. At this time, six bridges
are currently load posted in Ottawa County. This
number was reduced in 2013 by replacing the Fulkert
Road bridge over Geo. Hagedorn Joint County Ditch.
No bridges in the county are closed at this time.
Due to diligent efforts by our County
maintenance personnel in previous years, required bridge
maintenance work was minimal in 2013. These
activities were limited to berm reconstruction, placement
of erosion control measures, wearing surface crack
sealing, log jam & brush removal, as well as the cleaning
of all bridge decks and trusses.
During the year 2013, several structural related capital
improvement projects were undertaken:
-
Load Ratings for 10 bridges were completed for
Ottawa County by an engineering consultant. No
additional bridges were load posted as a result of this
work. The project was completed at a total cost of
$31,249. 80% of the cost was covered by CEAO grant
money and the remaining 20% was covered by ODOT
Credit Bridge funds.
-
The bridge on Fulkert Road (TR-56) over Geo. Hagedorn
Joint County Ditch was replaced. The total cost of the
project was $144,750.61. The project was designed inhouse and 100% of the construction cost was covered by
the County. The project has been submitted for the
ODOT Credit Bridge program and will result in
$115,800.49 of additional credit that may be used towards
the local share of future funded projects.
-
-
The bridge on Genzman Road (TR-96) spanning C.
Miller Ditch was replaced. The project was completed at
a total cost of $99,291.84. The project was designed inhouse and 100% of the construction cost was covered by
the County. The project has been submitted for the
ODOT Credit Bridge program and will result
in$79,433.47 of additional credit that may be used
towards the local share of future funded projects.
Rehabilitation work was performed on two bridges to
extend their service life. Bayshore Road (CR-135) over
Meadow Brook and Toussaint-Portage Road over
LaCarpe Creek had the existing asphalt pavement and
deck waterproofing replaced. Additionally, steel drip
edge was installed at both locations. The total cost of
these improvements was $48,161.65. The project was
Bridges (continued)
- designed in-house and 100% of the construction
cost was covered by the County.
-
Bridge railing and approach guardrail were
replaced at eight (8) locations around the county to
meet current rail safety standards. Total cost of
these improvements was $235,182.15. The project
was designed in-house and 100% of the
construction cost was funded by a grant through
the CEAO Highway Safety Improvement Program.
As we look into the future, we will continue to focus
on the issues at hand with our bridge inventory. In 2014
we expect to complete the following:
1. Replacement of the bridge on Fritchie Road (TR131) over George Schultz Ditch
2. Replacement of the bridge on Rocky Ridge Road
(CR-75) over LaCarpe Creek
3. Completion of the Load Rating of all bridges in
the county that have spans 10’ to 20’ in length
In closing, the creative use of county personnel
to develop engineering design for bridge improvement
projects, county highway personnel to maintain our
existing bridges, and various state and federal grant
funding programs has allowed us to significantly reduce
the cost of maintaining and improving our bridge
inventory. Going forward, the Engineer’s Office will
continue to dedicate significant resources to the
maintenance and renewal of the bridges in Ottawa
County to assure the safety of the travelling public.
Sign Inventory Update
Mastermind Systems, Inc. was contracted to perform
various Safety Studies and a Sign Inventory Study. The
Sign Inventory Study evaluated regulatory, school,
object markers, warning, road -name signs, as well as
reflective sign post strips. New retro-reflectivity
requirements mandate installation of reflective strips on
sign posts as well as replacement of signs with larger
ones. The number of signs upgraded was 2,367 at a cost
of $18,587.70. The County Engineer’s Association of
Ohio (CEAO) with the CSTP program provided funding
for the studies (listed below) and new signage.
Studies:
Right-Of-Way (Roadside Hazard)
Sign Inventory/Inspection
No-Passing Zone Study
Ball Bank (Curve Safe Speed) Study
Sign Compliance Study
Total Project Cost
CSTP Funds (80%)
Ottawa County Portion
Insert Page
$14,075.00
$17,710.00
$12,880.00
$16,100.00
$ 9,660.00
$53,800.00
$43,040.00
$10,760.00
2013 Construction Photos