Engineer submits final plans for bridge replacement on F-17 over Rock Creek

Final plans for a bridge replacement project along Highway F-17 West over Rock Creek were approved by the Jasper County Board of Supervisors this past week in a 3-0 vote, and by the time the concrete beam structure is finished by outside contractors it will be a little over 200 feet long and 30 feet wide.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said following the board’s approval of the plans, they should be on the February letting schedule. By next construction season, the county will have projects for Bridges T06, F04 and A11. All will be constructed by outside contractors and not county bridge crews.

“This is actually kind of the same thing we did for Bridge C08,” Frietsch said. “Same design as Bridge C08. No different than what we’re already doing today.”

Newton News previously reported in December 2023 that Bridge A11 was to receive soil borings to better understand what it needs to be an effective bridge. Currently, the bridge is a continuous steel I-beam bridge originally built in 1963. Frietsch has said the biggest issue is the deck, based on inspection reports.

According to a copy of the plans, the prime contractor is to employ controls to reduce erosiveness of land adjacent to surface waters and wetlands, which including erosion control during and after construction and the revegetation of all disturbed areas upon the project’s completion.