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Stark County discusses expensive bridge work, flex‑funding schedule and awards two road contracts
Summary
Roads staff described a high‑cost bridge replacement south of Richardson, a potential lower‑cost low‑water crossing, flex funding application timelines and two paving contract awards: Northern Improvement for West Broadway and Martin Construction for a 30th/110th project.
Todd Miller, the county’s road operations specialist, told commissioners the bridge south of Richardson requires major work and that a full replacement would cost about $1.7 million; converting the site to a low‑water crossing using an existing 66‑inch pipe could reduce costs significantly.
Miller described the site as deep with limited access and said the county may do culvert work in‑house if permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "It's a very deep structure. It's only one access in there," he said, adding that the county has a pipe on hand and will pursue permits to turn the location into a low‑water crossing.
Engineering staff said the county’s planned roundabout project remains scheduled for 2027 and that draft environmental reviews are pending. Engineers also outlined the flex‑funding grant timetable: applications open in July, with kickoff webinars late that month, an application deadline in the fall and award notifications in November. The county’s prairie‑dog mitigation estimate for next year is roughly $1,100,000, staff said.
The commission opened bids for two paving projects and later acted to accept low bidders. For the West Broadway Street overlay (CP 45079), Northern Improvement submitted the low, responsive bid of $298,811.25; commissioners voted to accept and execute that contract. For CP 452501 (30th Street / 110th), Martin Construction was the low bidder at $417,672.33 and the board voted to award that contract as well.
Commissioners asked staff to prepare notices of award and to coordinate contract documents; engineers said Northern’s bid came in below the engineer’s estimate and reviewed bid documents for compliance before recommending acceptance.
Miller and engineering staff also updated the board on culvert replacements, guardrail repairs in Bellfield, and an anticipated box‑culvert completion date of Oct. 10 for a separate project.
