Marion County Highway Engineer Mike McCormick is hoping travel on the Skillet Fork Bridge on the Route 161 extension can return to normal by the end of the year.
Deterioration of the bridge was much worse than anticipated when work began to fix a hole in the pavement. Work is now underway to replace 55 damaged connections found on the five spans of the bridge. McCormick says the work is very tedious and has to be completed one connection at a time.
The good news is once the extensive repairs are completed, the bridge should have another 20 to 25 years of life. Originally, McCormick felt the repairs would only give the bridge four or five years of life, enough time to begin the process of replacing it.
During the repairs, the bridge is down to one lane and has a ten-ton weight limit.
McCormick announced bids should be taken before the end of the year on the replacement of the bridge on Church Road east of Route 37. He reports construction should then begin in the spring and the road that has been closed for several years will be able to reopen.
A complaint was made to the road and bridge committee about the rough pavement on Kinoka Road from Route 37 to I-57. McCormick said he would look at the situation and see if some temporary repairs can be made to improve the condition. He noted unfortunately there were a number of other roads with even more pavement issues.
