Cochise County seeks scoping study, federal funds for 86-year-old Whitewater Drive bridge

Cochise County staff briefed the Board of Supervisors on an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to fund a scoping study for the Whitewater Drive Bridge on Rucker Road. The county will provide a local match and pursue subsequent design and construction funding through the same federal off-system bridge program.

County engineer Jackie Watkins said the bridge is a one-lane wooden-deck structure built about 86 years ago with a structural-deficiency rating of 23.4 out of 100 and a posted 5,000-pound (5.10) load limit. The recommended approach is a scoping study to define design needs and costs, then apply for funds to design and construct a replacement; the county expects the full project to take multiple years.

The intergovernmental agreement, listed in the agenda as IG824-0010929-1, carries $127,000 in federal funds for scoping with a local match of $7,635 and is effective upon signing through project completion, staff said. Watkins told the board the current deck is wood while the structure has steel trusses beneath; the replacement concept discussed would update the crossing to a two-lane bridge rather than preserve the single-lane wooden appearance.

Board members had no substantive objections in the work session. No formal vote was recorded during the April 3 work session minutes; staff said the project will move through scoping, design and then construction funding phases.