Old Highway 85 bridge to be replaced

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
After receiving over 70 comments on the proposed replacement of the Old Highway 85 bridge, the Weston County commissioners voted on April 21 to  replace the bridge. 
Laura Dalles, public involvement specialist for the Wyoming Department of Transportation District 4, told the News Letter Journal that the commissioners had voted to move forward with the project after working with the department to get feedback. 
Information provided by the department 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 estimated cost for replacing the bridge is $3,800,000 ($618,000 for design and $3,200,000 for construction). Removing the bridge without replacement had an estimated cost of $839,000. 
According to Dalles, the commissioners had reached out to WYDOT, asking for its help in getting feedback on the proposed project. The department also helped provide background on the structure and the estimated costs associated with the different proposals. 
“COVID-19 messed up the process a bit,” Dalles said. “We would typically hold a public meeting to get feedback, but we decided to do the survey. Many times, we don’t get anything, but this time we did receive 76 responses.” 
A majority of the responses, Dalles said, supported bridge replacement. She said that 42 people said the bridge should be replaced, 52 said the bridge should at least be removed, and 48 people said that the county should spend the money on the project. According to Dalles, most of the people who replied said they believe that the road is a valuable route and that it would be a detriment to get rid of  it. 
During their April 21 meeting, the commissioners acknowledged that some concerns about the project surfaced during the survey. Chairman Ed Wagoner said that some people may not understand that this money is only available for bridge work and cannot be spent on any other projects. 
Commissioner Marty Ertman said that the project is not scheduled until 2024, allowing for time to back out of the project if necessary. She said that the money would not be expended for several years. 
The commissioners supported moving forward with the project overall, so as not to lose the county’s spot on the project list. Commissioner Tony Barton voted against the motion, stating that he would have liked to look at the budget before making any decisions. 
According to Dalles, WYDOT’s approval  comes early in the process and that  the county can still identify potential projects and apply for funding. 
“This project is a partnership and will continue to be an ongoing partnership,” Dalles said. 
Ninety percent of the funding will come from the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Replacement Off-System program, Dalles said. The county will be responsible for 10% of the cost. 
The purpose of the federal program is designed to replace eligible bridges that have structural deficiencies, physical deterioration, and/or functional obsolescence. The program  is a federally funded bridge replacement program and applies to structures not on the federal-aid system. 
“This program applies to bridges under the jurisdiction of public authority, located on a non-federal aid roadway and open to the public,” the information states. “This includes city, town, and county-owned bridges meeting the qualifications.” 
The existing structure on Old Highway 85 was originally owned by the state but was transferred to Weston County by quitclaim deed in 1967. 
“The existing structure is a five span wide flange steel girder bridge constructed in 1929. In 1949 US Hwy 85 was realigned from the bridge heading south. The realignment widened and straightened the road meeting new road design standards established as part of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944 which provided funding for the interstate highway system and a secondary system of principal secondary and feeder roads,” a WYDOT history of the structure says. “In 1963 the portion of US Hwy 85 from Newcastle to just south of the bridge was realigned to the west bypassing the bridge.” 
Currently, according to WYDOT, the route is one of two accesses to the Newcastle landfill. Travel on the bridge will decrease once the landfill is closed in coming years, WYDOT says. 
The 90-year-old bridge is in deteriorating condition and has a low rating, WYDOT says. 
“Therefore, the existing bridge will either be removed and replaced with a new structure meeting current design and functional standards. If replaced, the new structure will be designed for an HL-93 live load, and it will have a 26-foot clear roadway with two-inch wide curbs,” the WYDOT proposal says. “It is anticipated that a new structure would be a multiple span steel girder bridge, which will allow BNSF to add track capacity in the future. An at-grade crossing will not be considered.”