Replacement of bridge along F-17 East to cost $1.7M

Jasper County has moved forward with the replacement of a bridge along Highway F-17 East over Rock Creek, which will cost more than $1.7 million.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said the bridge — classified as Bridge A11 — was programmed for letting this current fiscal year. The bridge was constructed in 1963 and it is located 0.1 miles west of East 124th Street North in the Hickory Grove township. The estimated remaining life was six years in 2023.

The current bridge is a continuous I-beam structure with a reinforced concrete deck supported by poured concrete abutments and piers with concrete pile foundations. The longest span is 49 feet, and the total span is 128 feet. Frietsch said the bridge is being replaced due to age and its inability to carry heavy loads.

“So this is another one of the bridges we’re having to replace because of that (State of Iowa) All Systems Permit,” Frietsch said. “The new bridge will be 201 feet in total span now, and it will be 30 (feet and) 6 (inches) wide. It’ll be a pretensioned prestressed concrete beam bridge with a reinforced concrete deck.”

Bridge A11 will still be supported by poured concrete abutments and piers but with H-pile foundations. Frietsch said the bridge was to be replaced by an outside contractor and let through the Iowa Department of Transportation. The project is funded through the Highway Bridge Program funds and state SWAP funds.

“We got one bidder. That’s it. Just like T06 we got one bidder. And that one bidder was Peterson Contractors. They were the lone bidder of $1,723,742.19,” Frietsch said, noting the contractor has many projects in the county. “They got three bridges and the second phase of F-48 West doing dirt work.”

The engineer’s estimate for the project was $1,715,502.40. The county programmed $2 million for the project.

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors awarded the low bid to Petersen Contractors in a 3-0 vote. The late start date for the project is April 21, and there are 130 working days scheduled for the bridge. Frietsch said the contractor would start Bridge T06, then move on to Bridge A11 and then Bridge F04.

Frietsch noted the detour for this particular bridge is “not great.” The detour on gravel puts motorists over a bridge that is flood damaged and the county is in the process of replacing. Supervisor Thad Nearmyer hoped the weight limit doesn’t get changed after the county finishes fixing all these bridge projects.

“I don’t even want to think about that,” Frietsch said.

Supervisor Brandon Talsma joked, “That’s a problem 10 years from now, Thad.”