The fate of the Hegwald Bridge, or county bridge 2.8-P.6, in Humboldt has been decided. It will be demolished and replaced. Other items:
Brad Fagan, an engineer with Schwab-Eaton of Manhattan, appeared before county commissioners Tuesday morning to discuss several options for a new bridge that will be constructed as the old bridge’s replacement.
“This is a very challenging site, it does not meet typical design criteria,” Fagan said.
The bridge, which crosses Owl Creek west of Chanute, is eligible for Kansas Department of Transportation funding. The county will pay 20 percent of the total cost of the construction, and KDOT will pay the remaining 80 percent. According to KDOT, any bridge that receives a sufficiency rating of 50 or lower on the 100-point scale is eligible for funding — the Hegwald bridge rated at 17.9.
Of the four options presented before the commission, two are being considered as a replacement. The first option is a square bridge “with a larger than necessary deck” to accommodate building the bridge directly across the creek instead of a curved structure.
“This option looks like the simplest,” Director of Public Works Bill King said.
The total cost for the first option is $1,048,236.50, or approximately $209,647.30 that the county would pay for the project.
The other option being considered would be to construct a curved bridge to span the creek on the existing alignment. The cost for the curved structure would be higher — costing $1,078,355 total and approximately $215,671 of total cost to the county.
The increase in cost is due to design work that must be done for the planning process, as well as more materials during construction.
According to King, the current bridge is a “fracture critical bridge,” and is too narrow for consistent traffic. County commissioner Dick Works joked that he did not feel safe crossing the bridge himself.
“I stop and think about it every time I cross that bridge, and know I’m taking my life into my own hands,” he said with a laugh.
The Allen County Sheriff’s department will be purchasing new uniforms to accommodate the updated Axon digital head camera equipment.
Sheriff Bryan Murphy said the old cameras required multiple attachments that were clipped to the officers’ shirts. The cost of the shirts, with all of the attachments, was around $140 for the “bottom line” version.
Murphy said with the updated equipment, only one attachment is needed for the cameras, requiring a less technical uniform. He said this allows the department to purchase higher quality uniforms for the officers. The total cost will be approximately $3,200.
Hegwald Bridge to be demolished and replaced
