Work continues on bridge replacement project near Hartington

HARTINGTON – Construction on a bridge replacement project east of Hartington is coming close to a conclusion.

Carla Schmidt, Cedar County’s highway superintendent, updated the board of commissioners on the project on May 14.

“It's nearing the end,” Schmidt said. Guardrails are likely going to be installed soon, if not already, and Herbst Construction Inc. of rural Le Mars, Iowa, also will be “doing some final grading” on the project, she said.

“Then they'll have to do the seeding,” Schmidt said, adding she did not have a projected opening date for the bridge. “It's very ne ar the end.”

The projected time period for work on this project had been set for January-May 2024. However, Herbst Construction got an early start in early December, tearing out the bridge that had crossed over the Bow Creek on 883rd Road about 1.25 miles east of Hartington.

Schmidt has previously described the old crossing – a 100-foot-long pony truss bridge built in 1973 out of concrete and steel – as “structurally deficient.”

The new crossing will be a 130-foot-long, 28-foot-wide concrete-slab bridge that will have no weight limit.

The commissioners approved a bid on June 13, 2023, of just over $1.1 million submitted by Herbst Construction for this project.

Cedar County bundled its project together with one in Knox County through the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s County Bridge Match Program because the new crossings will be similar structures.

Cedar County is set to be reimbursed $250,000 of the cost of its bridge replacement project through the Nebraska DOT program.

Schmidt also updated the commissioners on two box culvert projects that were awarded to A&R Construction of Plainview in February 2023.

The box culverts replaced two structurally deficient bridges and are part of the Nebraska DOT’s County Bridge Match Program, which will reimburse the county up to $200,000 for the two projects. The projects were bundled again, Schmidt said.

A&R Construction worked on a $290,891.39 box culvert project that is situated southwest of Obert and a $397,605.74 box culvert project that is located west of Coleridge.

“They're done – completed and open,” Schmidt said. “They've been open for a while, now.”