SPRING VALLEY — After the recent permanent closure of the Glade Avenue bridge, the Spring Valley Village Board is weighing options between a partial fill with a road on top and a retaining wall versus a sloped abutment reinforcement with structural fill.

“The Glade Avenue Bridge has been closed after a recent annual bridge inspection. The inspection has shown that there is significant deterioration of the reinforced concrete beams, reinforced concrete bridge deck and the south abutment. The deterioration has reached a point where the bridge is no longer able to safely carry vehicular traffic. In the interest of public safety, the Glade Avenue bridge is now closed,” a Spring Valley posted statement from Troy Peterson, a Cedar Corporation structural engineer for WI-DOT reads.

Nearby residents of the bridge spoke about the project at the June 3 meeting, sharing thoughts and concerns about the options. Cedar Corporation Municipal Engineer Greg Adams said the village received a grant through the Rural Road Improvement Program to remove the bridge, putting in a culvert under it to fill the void, adding a retaining wall, partial fill and a road on top rather than replacing it with a bridge. The grant was for around $280,000, and the total construction estimate would be $960,000, leaving the rest of the cost for the village to take on.

“It’s an expensive project. It’s a very small area,” Adams said. “It’s a very tight working environment.”

Adams laid out another option that would remove the bridge, replacing it with a sloped abutment reinforcement with structural fill and guard rails at the ends. The cost estimate is $115,000, with the scope change likely removing the grant possibility.

Public Works Supervisor Steven Kirby said that money could be used for a lot of extra projects throughout the village, including building updates or 0.9 to 1.6 miles of road pavement.

Prior to the public comment portion of the item, Board Trustee Matt Huepfel said without taking on the full scope paved road plan, getting an ambulance to the residents at the top of the hill will be extremely difficult.

“I feel pretty passionately about doing the bridge,” Huepfel said. “It’s kind of a farce. We’ve decided that the bridge really doesn’t help much, we don’t care about public safety for the people that are sitting there.”

Huepfel said at a prior committee meeting, there were talks about where this money could be used, but felt the full project still needed to be taken on.

“We all would love to have the bridge. We also understand we’re a small village with limited funds,” Board President Theresa Koch said. “We need to weigh out the options and spend the money, stretch it as much as we can to cover all of the needs of the village. We have not taken the bridge off of the table.”

Village Administrator Luann Emerson said the goal is to educate the public on the pros and cons of the bridge before a decision is made.

Spring Valley EMS Director Brad Jorgenson had a statement read on his behalf at the meeting which shared his thoughts on the future of ambulances getting to residents near the Glade Avenue bridge.

“We will adapt to whatever decision is ultimately made, and continue to provide the best response possible with the routes available to us. We recognize that there is no perfect solution in this situation. If funding were unlimited, replacement would certainly be an option worth pursuing; however, we also understand the financial realities and competing priorities the village must consider when making this decision,” the statement read. “While any permanent closure may have some impact on response routes and travel times, our team will adjust accordingly and remain committed to responding as quickly and effectively as possible.”

Resident Cody Shafer said previous boards should have looked into this item much earlier rather than kicking the can down the road. Shafer said there could have been a solution that worked for both the village and the residents, but with the bridge being closed there is no longer time to work on that solution.

“That point is long gone,” Shafer said. “We are at the point now where we either fix it or we don’t.”

Shafer mentioned attending many construction meetings for his job, stating he does not believe the full project would cost close to the estimation of nearly $1 million.

“The expense is not in the culvert, it’s getting the road within that 50-foot right of way up to the level of what it is now, and having to go essentially sheer walls up,” Kirby said.

Koch mentioned that while the can was kicked by previous boards on the bridge project, the same can be said about many village buildings that are now in need of improvements.

There was a resident who spoke in favor of the less costly option, saying the full replacement would move the road closer to her home, instead asking to extend Third Street up.

Another resident questioned why the village did not collect from a pair of trucks that caused damage to the bridge.

Resident James Hulbert said residents atop the hill rely on the ambulance services.

“We will depend on medical assistance, ambulances eventually,” Hulbert said. “We live in a society where we all help each other out financially. I no longer have kids in school, but yet I pay for the school district… We bought that property with the understanding that we had access. We want that access to continue.”

Hulbert mentioned upper Glade being too narrow as is, creating vehicular congestion in an area that should not and has not previously experienced that. Hulbert said house insurance rates for those in upper Glade will skyrocket without the partially grant-funded project.

“I feel shortchanged by the Village Board because No. 1, you guys didn’t go after the two trucks that hit the bridge. Why not? No. 2, you’ve admitted that you’ve been going after this bridge for 20-30 years and nothing has happened. I mean, yeah, it’s a lot of money, but why can’t we set aside some money every year,” Hulbert said.

Public Water Fluoride

During Kirby’s Public Works report, he mentioned the village will be sending out a survey with the coming water bills to evaluate whether or not residents would like to continue to have fluoride in the village water supply. Those who do not get directly billed for their water will have the opportunity to respond through the village newsletter.

“Everybody who pays their water bill will get a chance to say, do you want fluoride or not,” Kirby said. “There are two reasons that we come in here seven days a week 365 days a year, and one of them is fluoride.”

Huepfel strongly opposed a change away from fluoridizing the water supply, mentioning tooth decay being the No. 1 reason people in the U.S. go to emergency dental care.

“Seventy percent of Americans have fluorinated water,” Huepfel said. “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.”

Koch said the public will have the opportunity to weigh in, and the survey results will show where they stand on the item.