Generic bridges program works well for county
Gerald Kelsey is proud of Marion County's "generic bridges" program. Kelsey, superintendent of the Roads and Bridges Department for the county, told county commissioners at a recent meeting that no other county in the state has such a program, as far as he knows.
Currently, Andy Krause of Hillsboro is putting in a 50-foot generic bridge for the county. "He's built bridges for us for 10 years," Kelsey said Friday.
The bridges, Kelsey explained, are less expensive to build, but are safe. They are made of new, quality steel. They usually have no weight limits, at least for the first five years of their existence.
"Some that have been there 10 years still have no weight limits on them," Kelsey said. "We can put in three of them in one summer season."
County commissioner Leroy Wetta said he, too, was proud of the program, and "I don't want to abandon it."
The county has a similar program involving installation of box culverts, installing four or five per year in recent years. Because of budget considerations, "we'll have to cut back to two or three (a year) now," Kelsey said.
He explained the differential between bridges and culverts: If it's over 20 feet long, it's a bridge, and under 20 feet, it's a culvert.
"We're blade-patching roads right now, getting ready to seal about 23 miles of road this summer," he said.
The R&B people were hoping to start the sealing work by the middle of this week.
Bridge inspections by the Kansas Department of Transportation are done every two years. They will cost the county $13,000 in 2004.
Motor grader operators paid by the county maintain county roads weekly. "We may have to cut back maintenance on some of the dirt roads," Kelsey said.
He recently said that a 10-percent reduction in his department's budget for this year would mean no rock (gravel) on 32 miles of county roads.
He said Friday that instead of no rock at all, the county might have to cut back from its customary 500 tons per mile, by about one-third (167 tons) on each of those 32 miles of road.
A new polymer sealant being used on some county roads makes them last longer, Kelsey said. They can then be "redone" every five years instead of lasting only three.
Marion County has nearly 250 miles of asphalt roads, he said.
Asked about dust on roads obscuring drivers' vision and causing accidents, he said, "We're putting some sand in front of some farm houses to help control the dust."
Roads and bridges has 40 employees in the summer, Kelsey said. That includes 15 motor-grader operators, as well as section men.
"Nearly all the shop people are on the road crew right now," he added.
