Commissioner Jon Mason praised the county’s new bridge building project following the Oct. 22 Morrow County Board of Commissioners meeting. The first bridge built by the county is on County Road 46. It has a 30-foot span with eight beams made in the county garage with all the construction by county workers. An Ohio Public Works Commission grant (OPWC) was used in funding the bridge. Lilly Industries made forms for the beams and posts for bridge guardrails.

Mason said bridge building is a new endeavor for the Morrow County Engineer’s Office and Highway Department. Instead of contracting all the replacement and repair of county bridges, the county now has the capability of making the beams and constructing many bridges with Highway Department personnel.

County Engineer Bart Dennison said they can work on the bridges with an 18- to 36-foot span. Morrow County is one of only approximately 15 counties in the state to do bridge building. They are making the bridge beams in the county garage and then having county workers do the bridge construction rather than contracting all those bridges to contractors. Dennison said having the work done by the county is estimated to save the county money and time.

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners approved a series of engineer resolutions Nov. 4 authorizing the county engineer to advertise for bids on multiple bridge replacements and resurfacing projects in Rochester, Wellington, Carlisle and other townships.

County staff said bridge projects are funded through federal programs managed in Ohio by the County Engineers Association of Ohio acting as program manager for funds routed through the Ohio Department of Transportation. Commissioners were told typical federal matches run about 80/20 (federal/local), though one project noted in the meeting was funded at 100% and another at 95% depending on credits.