ANDERSON — For more than a century, a steel bridge has spanned Killbuck Creek on County Road 450 North. After being closed for more than a decade it will be replaced this summer.
That bridge is one of eight bridges in Madison County that needs to be replaced based on sufficiency ratings, the condition of the deck and superstructure.
Chuck Leser, Madison County engineer, said the bridge was closed in 2001 but area residents wanted it built back.
The bridge was first constructed in 1910, and a new wood deck was installed in the 1980s.
Walking across the span, Leser points out how the steel superstructure is rusting.
Leser said the county tried to replace the bridge in the 1990s, but the Madison County Council voted down the required funds.
“Being a steel trussed bridge, it went on hold for five years while INDOT figured out what to do with these types of bridges all over the state,” he said.
The contractor was given a notice to proceed on Wednesday on the $2.2 million project, which includes federal aid funds.
Leser said the bridge will be disassembled, numbered and transported to the Anderson Central Services building. He said the city plans to reconstruct it as a pedestrian bridge over the White River to the west of Broadway.
Aside from the bridge over Killbuck Creek, the other seven bridges that need to be replaced remain open to traffic.
“There are two bridges in Elwood where there is another bridge within one block,” he said. “With the limited funds we have, trying to decide if every bridge needs to be replaced.”
Leser said Madison County is not at the point where it is considering not replacing bridges on county roads, but bridges in city and towns may not be replaced if there is another span in the area.
“Do you need to spend $500,000 when there is another bridge one street over?" he asked.
The Madison County commissioners again are seeking to raise the county’s cumulative bridge fund tax rate from the current 2.8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 10 cents.
However, any increase in the bridge fund tax would mean the County Council would need to reduce another tax rate to keep the levy below state requirements.
Leser said the county needs $3 million to $4 million per year to maintain the 216 bridges and 219 culverts that range from 6 to 20 feet in length.
“There is no rhyme or reason for a 10-cent maximum,” he said. “On large projects we use the cumulative bridge fund revenues as matching funds for federal aid.”
Leser has estimated the cost to replace, repair, rehabilitate and widen the existing bridges in Madison County at $34.5 million from 2015 to 2019.
Included in the cost is the $16 million needed to replace the Eisenhower Bridge in downtown Anderson. The county recently applied for a $12 million federal grant for the project.
John Richwine, president of the Madison County Board of Commissioners, said the commissioners have advertised the cumulative bridge fund rate at 10 cents for the 2016 budget.
“It gives the council the opportunity to increase the tax rate,” he said.
Before the state-imposed property tax caps took effect, Leser said, the cumulative bridge fund was generating $1.5 million annually.
To increase the tax rate for the cumulative bridge fund, it would require the County Council to juggle funds, Richwine said.
“The bridges have to be maintained,” Leser said.