BEATRICE – A Norfolk company has been selected to upgrade an important bridge in Gage County, near DeWitt. The Gage County Board has approved the bid of Theisen Construction, Inc. for a total of $444,000. The company, which specializes in bridge construction, submitted the only bid for the project.


The structure commonly referred to as the “Buss Bridge”, is located along Dogwood Road near Southwest 100th, and spans the Big Blue River. Its closure has forced rural residents and farmers to take alternate routes in that area for several months.


Gage County Road and Bridge Chairman Terry Jurgens says the project costs include mobilization, site preparation, steel piling and structural steel. "It will require 90 calendar days, using a crane that is 34 foot in length, 16 feet wide and 55 tons in weight."


The company listed a start date for the project of January 16th, with completion by April 15th. County Highway Superintendent Mark Kuhnke and a consulting engineer reviewed the bid prior to action by the supervisors. "We'll be adding some work to each approach to allow the crane to use the bridge deck slab and then from there, to drive additional piling around the existing piling to carry the weight....restructure all of that...reset the rockers, pretty much complete the bridge up to state standards and be done with it."


The bridge currently carries a rating of only 15 tons, and Kuhnke says the work will increase that…the amount dependent on the type of bridge deck in existence. County highway crews have done some preliminary work around the bridge in recent weeks.  "They've cleaned, they've pulled debris out of the river, we've built working surfaces. Besides placing some riprap, once completed, county forces are done. This will be all contracted work."


Progress on the project has languished for several months….and Jurgens today said the same company that submitted the bid had previously placed a bid for it.
"At that time, they would mobilize the next week....and that original bid was for $368,000. Because we had to drag our feet, it cost us 60-70-thousand.....that's all I want to say."


County officials have not publicly described the reason or reasons for the delay. The supervisors approved the bid on a 6-0 vote, with one member absent.