Work on the Fourth Street NE bridge at the intersection of North Main Street in Austin could begin this winter.

Wednesday, January 12, 2000

Work on the Fourth Street NE bridge at the intersection of North Main Street in Austin could begin this winter.

Mower County First District County Commissioner Richard P. Cummings has made it a personal priority to have the bridge repaired as soon as possible.

Two-way traffic is allowed over the bridge over the Cedar River, but one half of the roadway is barricaded after an inspection revealed structural deficiencies this summer.

The bridge is a heavily traveled artery for traffic of all kinds in the near-downtown area and serves as an access route to Hormel Foods Corp.’s Austin plant and Quality Pork Processors Inc.

Mike Hanson, the county engineer, reported to the county commissioners Tuesday on progress to get the bridge work done.

At Cummings’ insistence, Hanson updated the commissioners, saying the bridge repair plans needed "small changes" before being submitted to both the regional Minnesota Department of Transportation supervisor at Rochester and MnDOT state officials.

When that approval is forthcoming, Hanson will take bids and the bid-opening date could be as early as the end of January.

"There’s interest among contractors to do the work and they say they can begin this winter," Hanson told the commissioners.

Mower County, by statute, is responsible for all the bridges in the county, whether they are inside a municipality’s city limits or a township’s borders.

Cummings wants the Fourth Street NE bridge repair to begin as soon as possible, he said Tuesday.

"Tell the consultant to put this on the fast track," Cummings told the county engineer.