Engineer warns Jay County timber-slab bridges need fixes; grant options under review
An EGIS engineer told commissioners Jay County's 42 timber-slab bridges show failing joints and load-transfer problems; short-term fixes could buy 4–10 years while staff pursues federal Bridge Investment Program and community crossings grants.
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EGIS engineer Mike McCool told the Jay County Commissioners that the county's 42 timber-slab bridges are showing failures in the shiplap joints and that load is being transferred to single panels, creating permanent deflection in places. McCool described several remediation options ranging from adding spreader beams (a temporary life-extension measure) to full spreader-deck grout repair and a more expensive pre-compression replacement that could narrow the bridge width.
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