The future bridges of Seneca County
Engineer’s office looks to federal funding for major projectsBy Nick Dutro, ndutro@advertiser-tribune.com
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The Seneca County Engineer's Office is in the middle of bridge construction project in Pleasant Township - which is to use 100 percent federal funding.
Feb. 22, Miller Contracting Group Inc. of Ottoville started construction on a new bridge on CR 42, commonly known as Basic Road, about 2,300 feet west of SR 53.
The county is involved in a local project administration a process which is to require local agencies to provide 20 percent of a project while the rest is paid for with federal funds. However, the engineer's office has been building their own bridges in house and are able to receive credit for the amount owed.
In addition, the $475,309.40 bid for the project was significantly less than the $860 estimate.
"You can see the disparity we have between our engineer's estimate and the actual cost are showing how hungry contractors are to do these projects. We're taking every project we possibly can and moving it up," he said.
The old bridge, built in 1936, was a twin-girder bridge, a design now considered to be functionally and structurally obsolete.
"They don't build those any more," Zimmerman said. "That style of bridge is called a non-redundant bridge, which means there are no extra safety features - if one piece breaks the whole thing could fall down."
Zimmerman said they are trying to do away with or upgrade non-redundant bridges to increase the safety of Seneca County's bridges.
All in-stream work on the bridge has to be completed by April 15, with work scheduled to be completed by the middle of May.
Zimmerman added M and B Asphalt Company, which is located in the area, has expanded their facility to hold more than 4 million gallons of storage of asphalt and petroleum product. Their new workload is to increase traffic out of the plant by almost 10,000 trucks a year.
Not knowing about the expansion, the new bridge was designed to be 36 feet-wide, making it one of the widest bridges in the county.
"I'm very glad we decided to do that now," Zimmerman said. "This bridge is going to be the lead for some major improvements on that road."
Zimmerman said they are looking at widening and repaving the road in the near future and added the office plans to apply for a stimulus bill, if another is offered, in order to completely rebuild CR 42.
"A lot of people said their projects were going to create jobs or enhance jobs," Zimmerman said. "This is genuine job creation and retention - and a huge safety improvement for the community."
In addition to improvements on CR 42, the office said it is expecting to pave more than 20 miles of road in the county and construct a $350,000 bridge near Sentinel Vocational Center.
In order to accomplish these projects, Zimmerman is aggressive in applying for grants and federal money, which he learned from previous county engineer, Jim Nimz. The office now is programmed for $20 million over the next five years, almost double that of the next closest county in terms of federal funding.
He said a lot of the office's budget is used for salt, plowing, labor and expenses, therefore any federal money is used for many of the projects the office accomplishes.
"If we did not apply for these dollars, we wouldn't be able to do even half of the work," Zimmerman said. "So, when I say it more than doubles our budget, it actually does significantly more than that work wise. ... Without that money, we would not be able to do anything."
"I'm a conservative, I'm a republican and I do not like paying taxes," Zimmerman later said. "A lot of people question the federal money - because it is taxpayer money, and I understand that - but what I want people to understand that if we don't take that money in Seneca County, that doesn't mean the money doesn't go back to taxpayers. It means it doesn't come to Ohio. We're going to continue to get every dollar we can back here at home."
In addition to applying for federal funds, the office also has started doing many projects in house. Last year the office poured its first set of concrete beams and this year they are pouring two sets.
"As far as cost savings go, we're going to build these bridges for somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000. To go out and contract these things, it would be between $150,000 and $200,000," he said.
One major project on the horizon, and one of the biggest that may ever be done in house, is replacing the river bridge on CR 38.
The office received federal money for the estimated $4.5 million project in fall 2009. However, the office still needs to make up 20 percent of the project, around $1 million, which they have been saving for.
In addition, the design work is to be completed in the office.
"Traditionally we've always hired out the design work for federal bridges," Zimmerman said. "Because the design work is generally between 8 and 12 percent, we'd be look at something in the area of $450,000 to design a bridge - we don't have $450,000 to design a bridge, so I'm going to design it. I feel as though the taxpayers of Seneca County hired me to be an engineer, so I'm going to be their engineer."
He said it should take him around a year to design the bridge. With the help Dave Kin, chief deputy engineer, boarings of the soil and bedrock are being scheduled and Zimmerman hopes to complete Stage 2 by the end of the year.
Using this as a template, Zimmerman said he plans to design every bridge at the office for the forseeable future.
"We're starting with a big one, and from there everything should be easy," Zimmerman said. "It's ambitious, but I have a good staff to help with that design."
Zimmerman said his staff at the office are great to work with and have helped to make many of their projects a success on a limited budget.
"My dad always told me when I was growing up, he said, 'If you want to be good, surround yourself with good people.' So I've surrounded myself with good people at the office and good people at the (county garage)," he said. "They make me look good."
