Commission approves rural-access awards, advertises annual bids and removes one bridge from inventory

YANKTON — Yankton County commissioners on Thursday approved a package of county road actions, including awards from the state Rural Access Infrastructure program, authorization to advertise the county’s annual construction bids, removal of one bridge from the county’s inventory and continuation of an engineering firm for annual bridge inspections.

The commission voted to approve the RAVE applications after highway staff described the program and the applications covering multiple townships. "After this year, after if you approve all of these, we'll still end up with, like, a hundred and 30,000 left," the presenter said about remaining program funds.

Commissioners then voted to advertise the county’s annual bids for road projects. The board later approved a motion to remove Bridge 68202-130 — described by highway staff as a former concrete-box structure replaced last year with three 6-foot culverts — from the county bridge inventory. Finally the commission approved continuing the county’s bridge inspection program with IMEG, the engineering firm recommended by staff.

Highway staff emphasized the inspections identify problems early. "They identify problems early when they're more affordable to fix rather than going years and years," the presenter said, recounting how recent inspections helped document storm damage for reimbursement.

All four motions passed without recorded opposition.

The actions keep the county on track for planned bridge work, highway staff said, and preserve eligibility for state funding programs used to replace small township structures.

The items drew brief discussion from commissioners about townships that have not applied for RAVE funds and concern that statewide uptake affects future legislative support for the program. Highway staff urged townships to meet with the county to participate before the program sunsets or funding decisions are finalized.