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Road and Bridge director flags two failing bridges; Coqualalo project could approach $1 million
Summary
Road and Bridge staff told commissioners that two small county bridges inspected by HMH Engineering need replacement, with staff proposing a concrete box culvert for the small Poyer Bridge and estimating the Coqualalo Bridge project at about $1 million.
During the Road and Bridge update, Director Toth reported results of engineering inspections that found two small county bridges need replacement and outlined next steps for each.
HMH Engineering inspected the Poyer Bridge and the Coqualalo (transcript variant spellings included) Bridge and produced load ratings. "Cost us about $27,000 to have them go out and actually inspect those bridges to see what kind of condition they were in and then produce a load rating for them," Toth said. He told the board the firm concluded both bridges need replacement.
Toth said the Poyer Bridge is a small span that the department recommends removing in favor of a box culvert, turning the crossing into a culvert rather than a bridge. "It just makes more sense to get rid of that little bridge," he said, adding that a concrete box culvert would be more stable during high and low creek flows and would reduce maintenance compared with small abutment bridges.
For the Coqualalo Bridge, Toth said the department would remove three culverts near the bridge and replace the crossing with a single, larger bridge. He estimated that project would be "pretty dang close to a million dollar project just for the bridge," and said environmental studies and design work will require a request for qualifications (RFQ) because the services will exceed a $120,000 threshold. Toth estimated the environmental and design work could approach $250,000.
Toth also noted jurisdictional inspection thresholds affect the county's funding options. "The problem with this bridge is it's under the 30 foot threshold, so it doesn't get inspected by the state," he said, explaining that the county had the smaller bridges inspected privately because they fall under the state's 30-foot inspection threshold. He said the department aims to replace the Coqualalo span with a longer structure (he estimated a 60-foot span when complete) so it will fall under Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) inspection and be eligible for other resources.
Staff said they are preparing weight restrictions for the smaller bridge and that the department is considering using about $1.1 million of the remaining unanticipated state revenue toward the Coqualalo project. Toth said work on signs or temporary weight restrictions will be implemented soon.
The board discussed timing and inspection practices: county bridges over 30 feet are inspected by the state, with roughly half inspected each year, while smaller county bridges must be inspected and rated via hired engineers. Toth said the county bridge budget is minimal and not adequate for major replacements, which is why the county pursues grants for larger projects.
No formal action was taken on the bridge projects at the meeting; staff said they will bring planned projects and funding requests forward in future agendas.
