City engineer: Loop River Bridges southbound deck poured; DOT will patch northbound rather than rebuild

City engineer Rick Bogus updated the Columbus City Council on July 20 about progress on the Nebraska Department of Transportation Loop River Bridges project and the scope of remaining work.

Bogus said crews have poured the deck of the southbound bridge and have connected the south side to the road; remaining tasks include shouldering and island work and finishing the north side. "They're actually done pouring the deck part of the of the southbound bridge," he said, and staff now expect a traffic shift "around Thanksgiving" that will allow the contractor to remove the temporary bridge before the March flood and ice season.

Bogus told council the DOT considered a full reconstruction of the northbound bridge but decided against it after additional engineering review. He cited permitting and environmental processes — including a US Army Corps of Engineers Section 408 permit and NEPA steps — and higher costs as reasons the DOT would not pursue a total rebuild. As a result, Bogus said the project will proceed with patching damaged areas, repairing railings and tying in asphalt wedges to make the northbound approach smoother.

Bogus estimated the patching and surfacing work will extend the useful life of the repaired northbound deck for roughly a decade but emphasized that timing, permitting and money constrained more extensive reconstruction. The council asked no further questions after his report.

The update places the project on a near-term schedule for traffic shifting and temporary-bridge removal; council did not take a separate vote on the DOT's scope decision during this meeting.