Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Bridges topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Adams County moves forward with countywide bridge inspection contract and expands small-structure inspections, adds two replacements to schedule
Summary
County engineer reported INDOT accepted the county's consultant selection for bridge inspections, the county is expanding small-structure inspections under a three-year consultant contract and now stores inspection data in county GIS; two small structures were added to the 2026 replacement schedule.
Adams County commissioners heard updates Wednesday that put the county further along in inspecting and prioritizing repairs to bridges and small structures.
County staff told commissioners that the Indiana Department of Transportation accepted the county's consultant-selection process for a countywide bridge inspection contract and that the county has notified USI Consulting to begin contract drafting. Rob Coop of USI is scheduled to meet this week with county staff to review expectations and recent Federal Highway changes to classification and inspection standards, staff said.
The county also reported progress on a separate, three-year contract with Janssen & Spans Engineering to inspect small structures in two townships per year. Inspection reports now feed directly into the county's geographic information system through an app developed in-house. "Those inspection reports go right into our database," a staff speaker said. "We own the data." County staff said that arrangement avoids vendor lock-in and reduces future costs for the county.
From the first year of small-structure inspections, staff said inspectors identified two structures — one in each of the two townships inspected — that will be added to the county replacement schedule for 2026. County staff also said they will make interface improvements to the inspection app for use in 2025.
Commissioners and staff emphasized outreach to residents. The county encouraged residents who question bridge work to contact the engineer's office for explanations of why seemingly sound bridges are scheduled for replacement: much of the work is based on condition assessments not visible from the surface. The county engineer said maintaining bridges reduces detours and route changes for school buses and emergency vehicles.
County staff framed the inspection work as part of a larger funding challenge: the county has about $100 million of bridge and culvert replacement needs and, by simple service-life budgeting, should spend roughly $1.5 million per year to maintain that inventory — substantially more than local tax receipts alone cover. Staff said the county will continue to rely on grants and outside funding to close the gap.
The county said it will report back when the bridge contract draft from USI is complete and when the county begins formal procurement steps for work identified as replacements in the inspection program.
Ending: County staff asked residents and media to contact the engineer's office for details about specific structures; staff said they will schedule further briefings when the USI contract draft is available.
