 During the meeting of the Lincoln City Council, Mathon said that the
bridge will more than likely be closed for at least the next 12
months, as in its current condition it should not be driven on.
Mathon noted in the letter below that repairing the bridge would not
be cost-effective. He also told the council that the bridge
replacement could cost in the vicinity of $150,000.
Mathon wrote:
(Copy)
The City was
notified by a citizen of a "pothole" on the Oglesby Avenue Bridge on
Thursday morning.
An inspection of
the bridge deck revealed an area of concrete that had deteriorated,
revealing some of the reinforcing steel and one of the open cells in
the center of the concrete beam that forms the deck of the bridge.
The City
temporarily closed the bridge at that time in order to conduct an
inspection of the entire structure and to formulate a plan for
repair. The IDOT Bridges and Structures Unit was contacted to assist
with the inspection.
This inspection by
lDOT personnel revealed additional deterioration to the extent that
repairs were deemed to not be cost effective.
The Oglesby Avenue
Bridge was completed in December 1967. The design lifespan of this
type of structure was expected to be 30 years at the time. It is a
reinforced concrete deck beam bridge, sitting on concrete caps
supported by timber piles.
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 All of
the City bridges are inspected biannually, with the last inspection
having been completed in January 2010. The bridge was given a
Condition Rating of 5 in 2006, 2008, and 2010. As late as November
2010, the bridge deck did not show the signs of deterioration that
are now evident.
We are
currently exploring replacement options for this structure. Because
of the current state of the bridge, the bridge rating will be
reduced to at least a 3. At that rating level, the structure becomes
eligible for federal funding.
When Mathon concluded his report, Mayor Keith Snyder
noted that the problem had been brought to the city's attention by
an area resident who reported the pothole.
He and Mathon agreed that having the community get
involved in reporting these types of problems is very much
appreciated.
[By NILA SMITH]
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