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Engineer warns Jay County timber-slab bridges need fixes; grant options under review
Summary
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.
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.
McCool said short-term repairs might add "4–5 years to the life of it, or maybe up to 10 years," and noted the typical service life of such timber bridges is "estimated at 25-40 years." He recommended the county work with EGIS to get cost estimates and explore grant opportunities, including grouping bridges for the federal Bridge Investment Program; EGIS has a grant writer pursuing possible funding. Commissioners noted the county had just signed a four-year bridge-inventory contract and that flagged assets would be considered as part of community crossings grant planning.
The commissioners did not vote on an immediate capital replacement but directed staff and EGIS to produce cost estimates and a grant strategy for bridge rehabilitation or replacement.
