To the editor,
The headlines in recent print and online newspapers for Iowa have been very frightening regarding unsafe bridges. While President Biden was in Pennsylvania promoting the infrastructure funding from the federal government, a bridge collapsed. Thankfully, no fatalities resulted.
The Iowa Department of Transportation web site indicates, Iowa leads the nation with 4571 bridges that are structurally deficient. With a little searching, I was able to find Greene County bridge data for 2018, which indicates 19 bridges were structurally deficient.
Communication with Wade Weiss, Greene County engineer, revealed that Greene County inspects 148 bridges. This includes bridges within the city limits and shared bridges with bordering counties. The current information indicates 12 are rated poor. Wade informed me that does not mean they are going to collapse, but they will have posted signage indicating weight restrictions. In our County, secondary road crews work to maintain the safety and integrity of the spans, keeping them in repair and avoiding total replacement. Three of the 12 bridges are to be repaired and are included in the current county budget. Additionally, five bridges are included in the Greene County Five Year Construction plan for replacement. There is one historically significant bridge east of Grand Junction that there are no plans to replace. The plan includes two river bridges at a cost of nearly $2,500,000 with the smaller bridges averaging approximately $700,000.
Infrastructure funds designated by the Biden administration as the American Recovery Act Plan (ARAP) will be made available to individual counties based on population and need. County Engineer Weiss believes Greene County will be receiving funds as distributed by the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Thanks be to Wade, and the secondary road crew in Greene County for keeping us safe on our numerous bridges.
Sincerely,
Mary Weaver, Rippey
