Bridge project delayed
Costs increases are major concern
The replacement of the Old Highway 85 bridge has been delayed until 2025, according to Weston County Road and Bridge superintendent Jim Hansen. The delay was announced at the Board of Weston County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 6.
According to Scott Taylor, Wyoming Department of Transportation engineer for District 4, the delay was the result of limited funding received from the federal government and significant increases in costs.
The replacement of the bridge was first approved in 2021 after 70 comments were received on the proposed replacement. According to News Letter Journal records, the commissioners at the time decided to replace the bridge and address the road the next summer.
Information provided by Road and Bridge describes the bridge as the Old Highway 85 Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad bridge, located on County Road 1A, approximately 3 miles south of Newcastle.
The initial estimate for the bridge, Taylor reported, was just over $3 million in Dec. 2021. In August 2023, he said during the annual STIP (staged, multiyear, statewide intermodal program for transportation projects) presentation that the project was listed as a $3,432,000 bridge replacement.
Ninety percent of the funding is to come from the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Replacement Off-System program, said Laura Dalles, public involvement specialist for WYDOT District 4. The county will be responsible for 10% of the cost.
The commissioners also considered removing the bridge without replacement, which had an estimated cost of $839,000, but relented because of the weight of public comments received in 2021.
With less money coming from the federal government to fund the program, in addition to increased costs, 10 bridge projects across the state are delayed between 2024 and 2029.
“The one in Weston County was 2024, now it’s 2025,” Taylor said.
The current cost of the bridge, he reported, is estimated to be almost $4.5 million, inflation included.
“Once you add in the preliminary engineer and construction engineer and direct costs, the total cost is just under $6 million,” Taylor said.
So at this time, he said, the county would be responsible for 9.5% of the cost or $594,000. This estimated cost has increased from $430,000 in 2021.
As for what costs could look like in the future, Taylor said it is hard to say with the delays what costs could be in the future.
On Feb. 6, cost was the main concern of Commissioner Nathan Todd.
“Because we just signed a $600,000 increase, we are talking close to a million dollars just out of increases,” he said. “And it looks like to me it’s serious. That is unreal, I think we need to revisit it pretty serious.”
Todd noted that he believes the county needs some direction from the state.
Commissioner Ed Wagoner said that the county “can’t go into this not knowing what costs are going to be.”
“I think this needs to be revisited again. We need to get numbers from the state,” Wagoner said.
He noted that the county could cut its losses of the $600,000 already invested in the project to avoid the expenditure of the rest.
“It is not a decision I want to make lightly on cutting and running,” Wagoner said. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving them an open checkbook.”
As for the condition of the bridge, Hansen made it clear that the bridge was safe and that deterioration was slowing,
Taylor reported to NLJ that the bridge is being replaced because of the condition, but it is still functioning.
“It is not going to fail, everything is rated from poor to good,” Taylor said. “Poor being the deck cracking on it. Everything else is fair.”
He explained that the deck being in poor condition is rated a 4 with 3 being serious, 2 being critical and 1 being imminent failure. Everything underneath the deck is rated fair, Taylor added.
Taylor will attend the Feb. 20 meeting to further discuss the bridge with the board. An agenda for this meeting is not available at this time.
