A Perry bridge that has need attention for quite some time is finally going to be repaired.
The Iowa Department of Transportation has approved the City of Perry’s request for funding for the Willis Avenue bridge between west 4th and west 5th Streets.
City Administrator Butch Niebuhr says the bridge has had a weight embargo on it for just over a year now, which is difficult given the large amount of truck traffic that travels on Willis Avenue.
The grant will cover the majority of the cost of the project, with the City being responsible for the rest.
“Perry’s responsibility for that is a 20% match of what the cost will be. So our engineers are working on that and getting estimates. An early estimate that we had a couple years ago was about $500,000 so it looks like our portion could be about $100,000” says Niebuhr.
Fortunately, the City planned ahead in hope that this project would move forward.
“Luckily the council did take action back when they did the bond and they put some money in there for that match for that bridge so financially we should have the funds available to do that, which is always a problem. But we’ll get the engineers working on that, see what the estimate is and see what the DOT recommends we do to replace that bridge.”
However, Niebuhr says nothing works quickly with the DOT so it’s unlikely residents will notice work being done on the bridge for some time.
“Probably the way we would plan is probably have plans and specifications go to bid the latter part of 2014 fall, with construction in spring of 2015. Hopefully completion within August or September of 2015” adds Niebuhr.
The City has 90 days to accept the funding and Niebuhr says it will likely be addressed at one of the February city council meetings.