Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clay County authorizes federal bridge grant application to replace four aging bridges
Summary
The Clay County Commission unanimously authorized staff to submit a U.S. Department of Transportation Bridge Investment Program application seeking roughly $5 million to replace or repair four county bridges; the grant requires a 20% local match and applications are due at month-end.
The Clay County Commission voted to authorize submission of a Bridge Investment Program grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation that would bundle four county bridges into a single project request.
Road and Bridge Director Tom Deenhart told the commission the federal program awards range "from 2.5 million to 80 million" and requires a 20% local match. He said the county had identified three fully closed bridges and one lane-restricted structure for the application and that the county has funds available for the required local match.
Deenhart described the four structures in the application: northeast 74th Street (built 1950), closed in March, two-span steel girders about 62 feet long carrying roughly 120 vehicles per day with a five-mile detour, estimated at about $1.6 million; northeast 164th Street over Williams Creek (built 1945), closed June 2024, single-span 29 feet long carrying about 314 vehicles per day with a roughly 3.7-mile detour, project cost cited as about $1,025,000 in the briefing; northeast 178th Street over New Hope Creek (built 1955), closed April 2025, two-span 75 feet long carrying about 216 vehicles per day, estimate about $1.5 million; and northeast 144th Street over Rock Creek (built 1968), currently lane-restricted with a five-ton limit affecting school buses, about 28 feet long and carrying about 325 vehicles per day, estimated near $1 million. Deenhart said pedestrian accommodations were planned in replacement designs.
The application deadline is at the end of the month and award notifications are expected in October, Deenhart said. He told the commission the county's combined requested amount for the bridges would be roughly $5 million with the local match a little over $1 million and that match funding is expected to come from the county's FY2027–28 budget as design and construction phases proceed. "We do have the money for our matches," Deenhart said during the presentation.
Commissioners asked about competitiveness for discretionary federal grants and whether engaging federal offices or regional partners could help rank the application; staff said the submission is not the result of prior direct assurances but that they will notify federal offices and partners after filing. Several commissioners praised the county's road-and-bridge planning and thanked Grant Coordinator Cynthia Connor for finding grant opportunities.
A motion to authorize submission of item 2026-175 passed on a roll call recorded in the meeting transcript as unanimous.
The commission did not set an assurance of award; the authorization allows staff to file the application and pursue federal funds. Next steps identified in the meeting record: staff will submit the application by the deadline and coordinate outreach with federal and regional contacts to support the county's submission.
