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Commission Authorizes Road Department to Pursue Design Work on Failing Nemo Road Bridges
Summary
Facing deteriorating box beams and a likely load posting, Lawrence County commissioners authorized the road superintendent to pursue bid‑ready design planning for two Nemo Road bridges to improve grant competitiveness and avoid prolonged delays.
Lawrence County commissioners voted to let the road superintendent begin bid‑ready design work for two deteriorating bridges on Nemo Road after an engineering inspection flagged failing box beams and recommended load posting.
Road Superintendent John told the board the older structures do not currently score high enough for a grant (the last inspection produced a score of about 31.143) but that completing hydraulic and foundation work and adding load‑posting mitigation could improve a grant score above the recent cut line (50.42 in the last accepted round). He said doing the design planning in‑house and paying upfront would accelerate timing but cost the county more; pursuing a grant would reduce county share but likely delay construction by two to three years.
Commissioners pressed staff on timing and consequences. One commissioner warned that load posting the bridge could stop concurrent paving operations and require rebidding of work; staff agreed the contractor could be impacted. After discussion about funding options and the inspection report, the board voted to authorize staff to pursue bid‑ready design planning so the county can apply for grants in January 2026 and, if awarded, proceed to bidding in 2026–27.
The road superintendent said he would return with more precise cost estimates and clearer grant point projections; commissioners asked that the inspection report and load‑posting decision be presented before any load restrictions are imposed.
