SPRING VALLEY — In wake of the July public hearing regarding the Glade Avenue bridge’s future, the board heard from community member Dan Rhy at the Aug. 5 meeting about another option that could potentially be more cost effective for the village.

Rhy said after talking to multiple contractors and doing measurements themselves, they could complete the project at a lower cost than previously stated.

“[The contractor’s] paver is equipped. We could actually pave a blacktop, asphalt curb,” Rhy said. “If we went with a larger diameter pipe, say an eight-foot diameter pipe, we can use the existing grade under the bridge because it’s almost dead flat.”

“When we demo the bridge, to save money, which I do all the time on Interstate projects, I break the bridge up into riprap and we actually use that instead of buying riprap,” Rhy said. “We don’t have to chunk away at the bridge for one thing, and we don’t have to buy new rock for another.”

Rhy said there will be iron in the bridge, which is common, but it comes out. He mentioned avoiding purchasing riprap would save about $8,000.

The estimates of Rhy’s plan included $35,000 for bridge demolition, tree removal for $5,000, excavation and preparation for $10,000, $3,500 to set the water main pipe with a crane, $23,000 for the pipe itself, trucked in materials at $51,000, topsoil work for about $5,000, 16-foot-wide paving for $19,000. The total after tacking on some of the labor items was tallied around $212,247 including everything other than replacement of the water main.

That water main has been a primary talking point surrounding the item because of its estimated $119,000 price tag.

There is a grant on the table for the village, but Rhy’s plan would need some modifications to meet the scope. Public Works Director Steven Kirby informed Rhy that the $280,000 grant the village received requires a 20-foot road width. Rhy said they could increase the road width without a drastic change to overall costs.

“Rounding it to $220,000, if we build a bridge that costs $220,000 and modify it, we might not even need the grant,” Huepfel said of the draw to Rhy’s proposal. “That’s a pretty reasonable thing. Our original bids came everywhere from $400,000-500,000 up to $1 million.”

Huepfel said it is a “no-brainer” to go with Rhy’s plan, and even if the grant would not accept the changes to the plan, it would still be a net savings.

Numbers presented at the hearing had the village cost at $262,680 after subtracting the grant into the lowest cost option for bridge reconstruction. Rhy’s presented numbers were lower than the post-grant calculations of that option, and if they could meet the scope of the grant, the difference could be significant. The two requirements to fit the grant would be to increase the road width to 20 feet and get an engineer to stamp off on it; two things Rhy said they are capable of.

The water main was included in the previously presented plans and not in Rhy’s plan, so the village would need to make a decision on where to go next.

“It’s one of those things that isn’t going to break tomorrow, but it could go another 60 years and never have a problem. If we were going to do all of this, it would make some sense to do the water main,” Kirby said. “It could go 60 more years without a problem; it could break tonight.”

Kirby said if they could complete the project without damaging the water main, it would be his recommendation to not replace it at this time. If the main is damaged, it would be possible to make the fix without it being catastrophic, according to Kirby.

The project will have to go out to bid regardless of the board’s opinion because of the project’s scale. The board asked Rhy to continue working with the Public Works Department to work out some of the finer details.

Cedar Corporation has started its studies for a potential project, and the Public Works Department is working on easements with nearby property owners to make working on the bridge simpler.

“No matter what happens, we’re going to have easements. Whether it’s the wall option or the slope fill option, it’s a 50-foot right-of-way through there, and that’s been a challenge in this whole thing. That’s why it was so expensive when we first started,” Kirby said.

Spring Valley EMS Director Brad Jorgenson said the area is already a tricky one to traverse, with EMS drivers advised not to cross the bridge during the wintertime.

“As far as our emergency vehicles, the Glade Avenue bridge has always been a unique one for us to maneuver as it has always been a snug fit,” Jorgenson said. “Whether a road is closed or not, we are going to respond to you. Yes, it might cut down a couple minutes, it might cut seconds, those things, we understand they do matter… We have that commitment to you as citizens.”

After looking into it since the public hearing, the village found the only way to temporarily reopen the bridge to vehicular traffic while the village awaits bids would be to get another inspection and have an engineer personally give it the stamp of approval. The overall sentiment was that it is an unlikely option after the latest inspection is the reason it closed in the first place.

Other business

• The board opted not to change the village’s water composition. The item was previously discussed back in June when Kirby said he was sending out surveys with the water bills to see whether or not residents were interested in no longer fluorinating the water. Huepfel was a vocal advocate in favor of keeping the water fluorinated. “Seventy percent of Americans have fluorinated water,” Huepfel said at the June 10 meeting. “It’s a tax on the poor. If you are affluent, you can afford dental care. If you are not affluent, you cannot. Your kids’ teeth rot. They pay the penalty for us talking about this plan.”
• The board came out of closed session, making the decision not to sell the Fire Hall until information is provided to the public on plans and costs.