Funds sought from Greene County Council to replace two 'dangerous' bridges

The Greene County Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon took the first step in seeking funding from the Greene County Council to replace two potentially dangerous wooden railroad bridges.

Commissioner Steve Lindsey, representing the commissioners, requested that the county council advertise for an additional appropriation of $1.4 million to replace the two bridges with concrete structures.

The two bridges under consideration are Bridge No. 255 on County Road 390 N - near Tulip; and Bridge 274 on CR 250W, west of Elliston and south of State Road 54 in Fairplay Township.

Both wooden railroad bridges were built in 1935.

County Highway Superintendent Mike Hennette said, "They (the bridges) are structurally deficient. They can not support fire trucks. They can not support ambulances nor can they support school buses so we need to replace those...the main structural supports on both of these bridges is broke. They should actually be closed, but they are not."

Hennette explained that the weight limit on both bridges had previously been reduced from 7-ton to 3-ton because of their condition.

The road superintendent noted, "A van weighs more than that. Right now, we currently have school buses crossing these bridges and that's scary, real scary. These are accidents waiting to happen."

He added, "Right now they are dangerous to go over."

Hennette further explained, "These bridges have wooden planks in them. They have big structural wooden beams under them. These wooden beams are so rotten the last time we put floor planks in...we had to drill 12 inches down in that beam to find good wood."

The commissioners gave Hennette the approval in February to begin working up bid specifications for both projects. He has consulted with engineers from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and has come up with a tentative cost estimate not to exceed $1.2 million. Also, whatever plans are approved will also have the approval of Indiana Railroad Company, which owns the rail line that uses the tracks.

"This is not something we did overnight. This has been in process for some time -- since probably last October," Lindsey pointed out."

Hennette said the bid package is being reviewed by the commissioner's attorney and should be ready to go out to potential contractors in the next 30 days.

"We want to actually take the curve or the hump out of these bridges. We want to put them together right," he said.

The council agreed to advertise for the additional appropriation -- per State Board of Account regulations -- and then consider the appropriation, which will come from the Cumulative Capital Improvement Fund at the next regular meeting on June 22.

In other action, the council signed a Wheel Tax Ordinance that in the past has been considered for renewal every odd-number year.

They approved the same basic rates that have been effective since the Wheel Tax was first enacted in the county in June 2003.

However, one change was made.

The fee charged to school buses and other non-exempt buses was raised from $20 to $30, on a motion made by councilman James Oliphant.

"I think $30 is fair," he stated.

The County Motor Vehicle Excise Surtax, which is paid annually at the time of registration, applies to automobiles, motorcycles, and trucks of less than 11,000 pounds. The Council set the Excise Surtax rate at a $25 flat rate.

The annual County Wheel Tax applies to other vehicles, including farm vehicles, not subject to the Excise Surtax and includes buses, recreational vehicles, semi-trailers, tractors, light trailers, heavy trailers, trucks and heavy trucks. The flat rates are: Buses ($30), recreational vehicles ($30), semi-trailers ($30), tractors ($25), light trailers ($10), heavy trailers ($20), trucks ($30) and heavy trucks ($40).

Hennette pointed out that the Wheel Tax generates about $900,000 annually which can only be used for repair or construction of roads and streets. It can't be used for equipment and manpower.

The road superintendent reminded the council members that without Wheel Tax revenue, little if any road patching would be accomplished for the rest of the year following deep budget cuts by the state.

Hennette said the cuts include $532,500 from the Motor Vehicle Highway Fund and $32,000 from the Local Roads and Street Fund.

"Right now, if you don't have the Wheel Tax, you don't even patch holes. We have no bituminous money in our budget at all. It's very, very fortunate that we have this Wheel Tax. If we don't have the Wheel Tax we don't patch holes, let alone blacktop any roads. If we didn't have this money I don't know what we would do."

Councilman William "Butch" Brown told Hennette it wasn't a question of whether the Wheel Tax is needed.

"We know how important this is," he stressed.

The council also:

*Agreed to advertise for a $400,000 additional appropriation from the General Fund for the county's self-funded health insurance account.

*Approved a transfer of $10,000 in the sheriff's budget from deputies to inmate medical expenses.

*Re-appointed Barbara Rollison, Rae Della Cravens, Jim Oliphant and Harry Huber to two-year terms on the Greene County General Hospital Board of Trustees.