Riverfront Authority requests county assistance in bridge project

Tammy Helm/Tribune photo Arnold Schofield, left, listens as Jerry Witt speaks to Bourbon County Commissioners Tuesday about removing brush and trees from the Long Shoals Bridge. They represented the Fort Scott Bourbon County Riverfront Authority, which has received a grant to remove, dismantle, repair, reassemble and move the bridge from the Little Osage River in northeast Bourbon County to the Riverfront Park at Fort Scott.

The Bourbon County/Fort Scott Riverfront Authority is asking the county to assist in a project that will bring a historical bridge to the Riverfront Park.

But getting the bridge from there to Fort Scott is going to require a lot of time and work.

On Tuesday, Jerry Witt and Arnold Schofield, representatives of the Riverfront Authority, asked commissioners for assistance in removing trees from the bridge and the approaches to the bridge.

Witt said the authority has hired a preliminary engineer.

"He has a time schedule," Witt said. "We're on a pretty tight time schedule with KDOT. He's got so much he's got to do and then put it out to bids."

"We've discussed this before," Commission Chair Lynne Oharah said. "We don't want to get close to the structure whatsoever because of the liability issue with the thing. We don't have the equipment to clear the trees under the bridge."

Witt said brush and trees need to be removed to allow the structural engineer to get clear three-dimensional photos of the bridge structure in order to determine what will need to be remanufactured.

Witt asked if the county could top the trees, then bring the remainder of the tree down through the bridge. Second District Commissioner Jeff Fischer said they are concerned about damaging the bridge.

He also said because the bridge is in a flood plain, before any work begins, the county will require a permit.

Witt also asked if the county still owns the property south of the bridge. He said there are two options for moving the bridge: using cranes to lift the bridge or doing a "roll off." He said so far, most contractors he has spoken to prefer to do a roll off to set the bridge off to the side where it can be dismantled for the move.

Oharah said the county would most likely be able to help clear brush from the entrance to the bridge.

Commissioners agreed to write a letter to the Riverfront Authority stating the group has permission to remove brush and trees from county property.

Witt said the bid letting will be in October, which means the bridge mostly likely would be moved in 2018.

In 2016, the Riverfront Authority received a $750,000 Transportation Alternatives program grant to move the 1902 Long Shoals Bridge from its location on the Little Osage River near 265th to the Riverfront Park at Fort Scott. The grant is through the Kansas Department of Transportation. The Riverfront Authority's match for the grant is $151,978.

The plan includes removal, dismantling, repairing, reassembling and moving the bridge to the park where the bridge will span the Marmaton River.

Witt said Tuesday the bridge needs to be moved before it collapses into the river, causing a problem for the county.

The bridge was placed on the Kansas and National Registry of Historic Places in 1990 due to its design and construction significance.

Other business

* In anticipation of closing the books on 2016, Bourbon County Treasurer Rhonda Dunn presented commissioners with a preliminary cash report.

Dunn said the Landfill and noxious weed funds are budgeted to end the fiscal year with less carryover than had been budgeted.

The landfill fund is showing a preliminary cash balance of $48,556.40, but was expected to have a $160,079 carryover.