Work is moving as fast as possible to get a bridge replaced near Neosho Rapids, but it may be next year before the bridge over Dry Creek is finished — and it may be months, if not next year, before the project even starts.
Lyon County Engineer Chip Woods says BG Consultants is working with the Lyon County Highway Department to fast-track the paperwork now needed to replace the Road 170 bridge that failed this past weekend, including surveys, plans and permits. However, that process could take a significant period of time — meaning the project may not be completed until some time next year. Having said that, Woods says the partnership with BG will be a faster process than it would be if handled by the Highway Department — which is busy trying to re-gravel much of the county’s 1,000-mile unpaved road network after recent rain, freezing rain and snow the past six weeks.
Woods says the bridge was on the county’s replacement list simply due to age, although the year of installation is not immediately available. Road 170 was built in the 1920s, Woods says, and the Dry Creek bridge was the last one up for replacement before it collapsed.
Replacement will be costly. Final costs haven’t been tabulated, but Woods expects the final total will be well above $100,000.
7 am Monday: Bridge replacement timeline pending near Neosho Rapids; area residents report 1-2 inches of weekend rainfall
The work timetable is pending, but there is a lot of work to do after a bridge collapse near Neosho Rapids either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Road 170 is closed between Kansas Highway 130 and Road W until further notice after the bridge failed over Dry Creek. Assistant Engineer Jim Brull says it is far too early to say when the bridge will be replaced and traffic can return to normal, in part due to the Highway Department’s existing workload.
Brull says the early indication is the west abutment failed. He says the bridge was on Lyon County’s replacement list for unspecified reasons unrelated to the abutment failure.
Lyon County deputies at the bridge say elevated water flow was the reason. Brull also says there will be an investigation to see whether there were any additional contributing factors.
Deputies on scene say the washout was discovered shortly before 5 am as a pickup driver on his way to work drove over the caved-in part of the bridge and crashed. The wreck was initially listed as a possible injury crash, but the driver was not transported by ambulance to any medical facility afterward.
Speaking of crashes, there was a second weather-related possible injury crash Sunday, this one on the Kansas Turnpike just northeast of the Matfield Green service exit and nearly 30 miles southwest of the Emporia gate. A car driven by 21-year-old Shennen Pineda-Ortega of Topeka hydroplaned and crashed into the center barrier wall. Pineda-Ortega was listed with possible injuries but was not listed as transported.
The weekend saw over an inch of rainfall accumulate at various area locations:
*KVOE studios: 1.50 inches
*Emporia Municipal Airport: 1.30 inches
*10th and Weaver: 1.28 inches
*1100 block Constitution: 1.20 inches
*Deerbrook Addition: 1.30 inches
*Allen: 1.50 inches
*2 miles east of Emporia Municipal Airport: 1.76 inches
*Olpe: 1.50 inches
Flooding issues were isolated areawide:
*Greenwood County is reporting a pair of bridges south of US Highway 400 have been barricaded due to water over them.
If you have rain totals to report, call KVOE at 620-342-1400, email kvoe@kvoe.com or message the Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863.
