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Repairs began last week on the County Road 1 bridge over the Kanaranzi Creek in southeastern Rock County at a cost more than double the engineering firm’s original estimate.
Work is expected to be finished by week’s end.
County commissioners received two bids at their July 2 meeting for the emergency repairs.
They accepted the lower bid of $121,060 from Prahm Construction of Slayton. M & K Bridge Construction of Walnut Grove submitted a bid of $147,880.
The estimate was $52,500; however, several additional improvements were added to the initial estimate.
Demand also increased the repair costs due to an already busy construction season, according to County Engineer Mark Sehr.
“We really had to work on Prahm and M & K just to get bids,” he said. “They don’t really want it.”
Prahm began work July 15.
Since April 9 traffic over the two-lane bridge was restricted to one lane and 20,000 pounds after the county highway department was alerted that the bridge deck had a noticeable sag.
Ice flow this spring damaged the bridge’s wood pilings, allowing a three-inch sag to develop on the bridge deck.
State officials deemed the repairs as an emergency, allowing the county to tap into Federal Highway Administration funds for the work to be completed.
Once the repairs are complete, traffic will return to two lanes, but the weight restriction will remain at 20,000 pounds.
Before the roadway was reduced to one lane, an estimated 650 vehicles crossed the bridge on a daily basis.
Long-range plans are to replace the bridge in the next five years.