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Jackson County wins BUILD grant for Ironbridge replacement and approves CHBP resolution
Summary
Supervisors approved a resolution supporting the county’s FY26 Competitive Highway Bridge Program grant package and were told Jackson County received a FY26 BUILD grant for the Ironbridge replacement, bringing total grant funding for that project to about $5.7 million including a prior $2 million DOT loan.
Jackson County engineering staff told supervisors on July 14 that the county had been awarded a federal BUILD grant for the Ironbridge replacement and that the board approved a resolution supporting a competitive highway bridge program (CHBP) application covering two local bridges.
The board moved and approved resolution 12O407-14-2026 to support the FY26 CHBP cooperative agreement and the county’s inclusion in the state’s bundled submission. The county engineer explained the CHBP package includes Morehead Bridge and a bridge on County Highway Z15 and that the state’s submission bundles many counties’ bridge projects for FHWA consideration.
Separately, the county was notified it had been awarded a FY26 BUILD grant for Ironbridge as part of a joint application with six other counties. Engineering staff summarized the Ironbridge funding stack as roughly $5.7 million in grants to date, including a prior $2,000,000 DOT loan. The project is under design, and the county is targeting a March 2028 letting for its separate procurement.
Officials cautioned that the existing Ironbridge is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Federal Highway Administration rules could require feasibility studies and mitigation if the county sought to remove or substantially alter an eligible structure; those mitigation costs are not covered by CHBP or BUILD grants and would be a local expense if required. Engineering staff said moving the new bridge downstream is a likely approach to avoid heavy mitigation and streamline replacement.
What’s next: staff will proceed with design and separate lettings for the Ironbridge replacement and will return with cost and scheduling details as the design and feasibility work progress.
