Supervisors close two bridges with more to come

The Grundy County Board of Supervisors acted on County Engineer Gary Mauer’s recommendation to close two bridges during Monday morning’s meeting, and 19 more are on the agenda for next week.
           
Of the two bridges now closed (previously embargoed at three tons), one (F-4) is located on 160th Street just west of I Avenue, and the second (K-12) is on L Avenue. F-4 is currently slated for replacement in fiscal year 2022 at an estimated cost of $820,000, and K-12 is on the schedule for FY2021 at an estimated cost of $210,000.
           
Because the state legislature raised the load limit for rural gravel roads from 20,000 pounds to 25,000 pounds on single axle vehicles, the county will vote on a resolution to embargo an additional 19 bridges. Mauer told the board that 15 of the embargoes are directly due to the change and will be set at 40 tons, and four of them are reducing the load limit below 40 tons.
           
“It’s just another unfunded mandate,” he said. “In the next couple years, there are going to be more of those.” 
 
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