The Grundy County Board approved a $115,000 agreement with Chamlin and Associates to design deck replacements on Gardner Road for the bridge over a creek.

“I got a call saying I needed to get out to a bridge because one of our guys had found about a three-foot hole straight through the top of the bridge,” said County Engineer Eric Gibson. “You can stand on the bridge and look down and see the creek.”

Gibson said he was able to find an opening in a federal program, so the county can now look to get the bridge replaced next year to avoid two more weight-posted bridges on Gardner Road. The county does have the funding available for this project in its budget already, but it wasn’t originally scheduled to be replaced until fiscal year 2028.

County Board member Eric Rasmusson said said the Highway Commission voted unanimously to approve this project.

“It wasn’t because it wasn’t inspected,” Rasmusson said. “It just deteriorated pretty fast, so it kind of got into emergency mode.”

The Grundy County Board voted unanimously to approve this project.