Osage Co. bridge uses STC innovation
A bridge in Osage County – just northwest of Scranton on West 149th Street – is standing stronger than ever thanks to a replacement project that used a structuring method championed by the Soy Transportation Coalition. The Kansas Soybean Commission funded conceptual work for the project, including planning and engineering costs in developing the replacement bridge.
“I thought it was a good chance for Osage County to work with the Kansas Soybean Commission on this project,” says Ryan Fine, public works director for Osage County.
In a special ceremony May 15, representatives from KSC, including Commissioner Raylen Phelon, met Fine and Osage County Commissioner Brandon Smith at the site to view the completed bridge and present a check for the farmer-funded portion of the project cost.
“What I am really pleased about is that we are using checkoff dollars, and they are coming right back into the county where the farmers are at,” Phelon says. “It is a great return on investment, and it helps the county because it reduces the burden on the local taxpayers. It is just a great win-win for everybody, especially the farmers.”
This particular bridge in Osage County sits on a rural road but serves an important purpose for farmers in the area. Fine describes it as a thoroughfare to the elevator in Scranton that saves area farmers a longer detour south to Highway 56. Some growers have land directly on either side of the site and are able to maintain quick access.
The partnership between KSC and Osage County began when Phelon approached county commissioners with findings from the Soy Transportation Coalition’s Top 20 Innovations for Rural Bridge Replacement and Repair report, which is a product from a task force of engineers in the thirteen STC sponsor states. It outlines cost-effective bridge structures that maintain safety standards and allow rural infrastructure to continue serving as a crucial link in the supply chain.
When the 149th Street bridge was taken out by a flood, county officials recognized the benefits of implementing an innovative structure and working with the checkoff to make it happen. The new bridge features head walls that attach the bridge to the culvert, wing walls and H-piling driven four to five into the ground which sturdies the structure from future heavy rains.
“It is locked in on all four corners,” Fine explains. “That is one of the things that appealed on this bridge because the old wood one kept floating away and we’d bring it back up and have to set it back down.”
Placing a traditional box bridge could have cost local taxpayers over $300,000, Fine says, but the H-piling structure built by Husker Steel cost just over $106,000. The Kansas Soybean Commission contributed $4,500 as allowed by grant stipulations.
Like Phelon says, the project is a win-win.
Additional grants of up to $10,000 for rural bridge replacement and repair are still available through the Kansas Soybean Commission.
Visit www.soytransportation.org to learn more about the top 20 innovations for rural bridges.
