By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Barton County will get some help from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to replace a 99-year-old bridge just east of Great Bend. County Engineer Barry McManaman presented a proposal to the Barton County Commission Wednesday for approval. KDOT will pay 85 percent of construction costs, up to $1 million, for replacement of the bridge located approximately one mile east of Kiowa Kitchen on East Barton County Road.
"This particular bridge is off-system bridge No. 202," McManaman said. "It's only 19 feet wide and has some really high concrete rails on the side, so it really restricts vehicular, and especially farm equipment, movement."
The bridge, built in 1924, is a fracture-critical structure with a steel support beam encased in concrete on each side. It's the last remaining bridge of that kind in the county.
"If we ever had a real serious hit on that bridge, the reason it's called fracture critical is if you lose one of those beams, the whole bridge would come down," McManaman said. "There's not any redundancy in the bridge. It's good to get those kind of bridges off our system."
With Wednesday's approval, McManaman will work with Kirkham Michael to get out bids for the project. The commission agreed that replacing the bridge could benefit farmers moving large equipment in the area, especially with potential construction on U.S. 56 Highway in the future.