Bremer County gets progress report on deficient bridges, warns of funding tradeoffs

Landon, who presented the county bridge inventory, told officials the county’s list of structurally deficient bridges has fallen from 43 in 2018 to about 25 pending inspection updates. He said eight of those are in the five-year road plan — five tied to a grant that must be let by the end of the federal fiscal year 2028 — and that replacement timelines will range from the next summer to a two-year horizon for larger projects.

Landon warned the board of an important funding tradeoff: Highway Bridge Program (HBP) funds are distributed by a statewide formula tied to square footage of deficient bridges, so rapid removal of deficiencies can shrink the county’s HBP allocation and make continued progress harder. "As we continue to remove them, if we are making progress faster than the rest of the state, our HBP funds will start being reduced," he said, adding that the county is already seeing early signs of that effect.

The board discussed practical consequences: fewer HBP dollars would require shifting priorities and could reduce the miles of highway the county can maintain or replace in a given year. Landon also described plans to add one to two bridge projects per year and to use additional bridge-group or day-labor work for smaller replacements; he noted some federal and state grant dependencies for specific projects.

Separately, Landon recommended caution before committing to a Permazyme base-stabilization purchase despite a promotional offer; Butler County’s trial produced mixed results during heavy rain, producing slick or "gooey" surfaces in one example. The board asked staff to consider a limited pilot section with restricted traffic before a broader purchase.