Geotechnical services approved for 2 bridges in Jasper County

Two bridges due to be replaced within the next year or so were approved for geotechnical services this week by the Jasper County Board of Supervisors, and one of which was a bridge destroyed by floodwaters this past spring. The county engineer, Michael Frietsch, said the soil needs inspected to fit longer designs.

“Both are going to be 120-foot-span, steel beam bridges with poured concrete decks on them,” Frietsch said. “The longest bridge that we’ve done with a package deal is about 80 feet with a steel backwall abutment. So we’ve got to kind of revisit our steel backwall pile design here for both these bridges.”

In order to do that, the county will hire Allender Butzke Engineers Inc. to drill soil borings, test them in a lab and then provide a report of the findings for the bridge on North 107th Avenue West over Mud Creek (Bridge D05) and the bridge on South 24th Avenue West over Cherry Creek (Bridge M03).

Bridge M03 was destroyed by floodwaters in May, along with Bridge M08 located northwest of Newton on North 35th Avenue West; Bridge L01, located east of Newton on South 12th Avenue East; and Bridge A08, located north of F-17 on North 99th Avenue East. All were included in the engineer’s five-year plan.

Following the report from Allender Butzke Engineers Inc., the county engineer will know what the soil conditions are like in the locations of these two bridges. This will allow the county to size the bridge appropriately and then proceed with bidding out the steel backwall abutments for both bridges.

Jasper County will pay Allender Butzke Engineers Inc. $7,900 for geotechnical services for Bridge D05 and $6,000 for the same services for Bridge M03.

According to county documents, the field exploration could be scheduled to be conducted within one to two weeks of receiving authorization, weather permitting. The contractor will provide a verbal report of its findings and recommendations within one week after drilling. A written report will follow a week later.