By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
A walking and fishing bridge will be installed at Veterans Lake this
spring, as the Great Bend City Council voted 6-1 Monday to purchase a 230' bridge to be installed by EZ Docks for $158,555.
The current bridge, on the south side of Vets Lake, was installed around 2000
and is starting to deteriorate. Great Bend Public Lands Director Scott Keeler
felt the time was right to replace the bridge after the city recently installed
a new fishing dock nearby.
"Right now, these bridges have a 10-year warranty," said Keeler. "The specs from the company say they'll last 25 to 30 years. Most of the docks the company has put in, going back to 1991, are still in place."
Along with Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement money from previous
flooding and wind storms, Great Bend has $146,480 set aside for the project.
FEMA will reimburse the city 75% and the State of Kansas will reimburse the
city 10% for the bridge replacement. Leaving the city with 15% of the project,
Great Bend’s share will be $23,783 for the turnkey installation.
RELATED STORY: Great Bend to replace docks at Vets and Stone lakes