Deer Creek bridge project completed; Primm Road now open to all traffic

 

[December 07, 2019] 

The Deer Creek bridge on Primm Road is now open to traffic. The road has been closed since early April in order to construct a new bridge over Deer Creek. The bridge is located 1 mile south of Lincoln Community High School. The project got off to a slow start due to all of the spring flooding. Despite that setback, the project was still completed ahead of schedule.

The new bridge is a 3-span steel beam bridge with a concrete deck. It measures 184 feet long and has concrete approach pavement on each end. The bridge is 27 feet longer than the old bridge, which will allow for more water to pass under the bridge during seasonal floods.

The Salt Springs Branch flows alongside Primm Road for approximately ½ mile before it meets Deer Creek at the bridge. This project included a large amount of grading to enlarge the channel for Salt Springs. This will provide room for floodwater to back up without overtopping the roadway.

The safety of this road has been improved by installing crash-tested bridge rail and guardrail. The foreslopes are also much flatter than before, especially along the Salt Springs Branch. These improvements are designed to reduce the severity of any accidents that might occur along this road.

The contract amount for this project was $1,921,913. Although some pay items still need to be completed, the final cost of this project is expected to be $10,000 under the contract amount. In 2014, Logan County was awarded $1.7M in federal bridge funding to complete this project. The remainder is being paid from local property tax funds.

The remaining work on this bridge project includes painting of the new steel beams and planting grass seed in some areas. Both of these will be completed in 2020 when the weather is appropriate.

The Logan County Highway Department would like to thank Freesen, Inc. for their work on this project. We also appreciate the cooperation of the local landowners, and the patience of the local residents who had to drive around the project site for the past few months.

[Bret A. Aukamp
Logan County Engineer]