WASHINGTON STREET BRIDGE COMPLETE, OLD CAPE ROAD BRIDGE NEXT

JACKSON -- One bridge down, one to go.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the recently reopened Washington Street Bridge will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday. Mayor Paul Sander will be on hand along with other dignitaries.

The city decided to replace the bridge after the concrete support structure started eroding. Construction began in August, and the bridge reopened two weeks ago.

Public Works Director Jim Roach said the bridge was "spalled" on both sides, meaning it had begun to chip and flake.

A consulting engineer who was monitoring the situation recommended repairing the bridge immediately. At that point, the city did an analysis of the replacement and repair costs.

"We decided in the long term it would be best to replace it," Roach said.

The city paid about $200,000 to Dumey Excavation of Benton to build the bridge.

Construction on a second bridge project began in September. The city is replacing the Old Cape Road Bridge over Goose Creek.

The original bridge was built in 1900. Design and planning have been going on for a number of years.

The age and narrowness of the bridge combined with the fact that federal matching money was available prompted the city to replace the bridge now.

The replacement cost is $400,000. Eighty percent of the cost will be borne by the federal government, with the city paying the rest.

Officials hope construction is complete by the end of November but that will be very dependent on the weather, Roach said, because the bridge has an asphalt overlay.

"A cold snap or rain could drag it on awhile."

He said the approaches to the new bridge will be straighter and wider.

The contractor is Penzel Construction of Jackson.

These two bridges take care of the city's bridge problems for now. Roach said the contractors have done a good job of rerouting traffic.

"We haven't had a lot of complaints," he said.

" ... I think folks have done a good job living with it basically."