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Duncanville staff outline bridge maintenance plan, say Main Street span needs about $138,000 in repairs
Summary
Public Works staff told Duncanville council they repaired two bridges in-house, identified six contractor-level repairs (about $50,000) and flagged a major Main Street repair estimated at $138,000; staff said no dedicated bridge-maintenance fund exists and will bring funding options to the June 30 budget workshop.
Public Works Director Shaheed Muhammad told the Duncanville City Council on June 2 that the city has launched a bridge maintenance program after reviewing TxDOT inspection reports and an internal re-inspection.
"Today I'm going to walk you through the bridge maintenance program that we just initiated," Muhammad said, describing in-house fixes to two bridges and a contractor list for six additional bridges. He said contractors estimated roughly $50,000 for joint- and crack-sealing work and identified a larger structural repair on the Main Street bridge estimated at $138,000.
The briefing laid out why the city needs a formal maintenance program. Muhammad said TxDOT typically inspects local bridges every two to three years and that most recommendations fall to cities to address within that cycle; only high-risk items prompt much shorter timelines. Council members pressed staff on whether preventive maintenance could have avoided the Main Street damage and on how quickly projects could start. Johnny Murray, the street superintendent, said some cleanup and drainage work was already completed by in-house crews.
Staff told the council there is not currently a dedicated bridge-repair budget. Muhammad said the options to pay for upcoming work include reallocating existing FY2026 street-maintenance funds, identifying another city fund, or applying for external grants. He said the project list—cleanups, drainage fixes and contractor repairs—totals about $180,000 in identified work excluding engineering; the Main Street engineering and repair work is separately estimated at $138,000 by a concrete contractor.
Council members and staff discussed how the completed drainage master plan and county studies (including inland-port planning) intersect with bridge repairs. Staff described the drainage master plan as focused on larger capacity projects, while the bridge-maintenance program targets smaller preventive repairs and immediate safety fixes. Council members urged staff to return with a prioritized funding proposal for the June 30 budget workshop and to consider restoring special-projects crew positions that were frozen last year.
The presentation concluded with staff outlining a two-step approach for complicated locations: structural-engineer review followed by contractor work per the engineer's recommendations. No formal action or vote was taken; staff said they will return with funding options and a proposed program schedule.
The council is expected to review funding proposals and prioritization during the June 30 budget workshop.
