The two Douglas County commissioners who voted to close the Kansas River bridge between Perry and Lecompton while it is undergoing repairs have heard the protests of nearby residents and arrived at what they think is the best decision.

The same issue will face Jefferson County commissioners at their meeting Monday morning, and there are indications that board will come down on the side of keeping the bridge open during construction. Especially if the boards are split on the matter, this is an issue that may warrant reconsideration by Douglas County officials.

After conferring with residents and businesses along Kasold Drive between Clinton Parkway and Bob Billings Parkway, Lawrence city commissioners decided to keep one lane of Kasold traffic open in each direction while the street is rebuilt. After consulting with downtown business owners, a similar decision was reached for the construction project currently under way on Massachusetts Street.

The inconvenience and safety issues posed by those projects don’t even come close to what will be faced by Perry and Lecompton residents, businesses and schools if the bridge that links the two towns is closed for 140 working days, which could easily stretch to six months, depending on weather conditions.

Commissioners Bob Johnson and Charles Jones said they voted in favor of closing the bridge, not because it would save money, but because it would allow for construction of a better bridge and be a safer option for construction workers and area residents. It’s hard for average residents to evaluate the claim of construction quality, but the safety issues are a matter of legitimate debate.

If the bridge isn’t closed, the project would take about 320 working days and cost an estimated $4.07 million. If it is closed, the project would take 140 working days and cost $3.3 million.

Commissioners are right that cost shouldn’t be a primary consideration. The $770,000 savings has to be measured against not only the additional driving costs for residents and the lost revenue to businesses but also against the additional tax dollars that the Perry-Lecompton school district will need to offset their transportation costs.

Even if the bridge construction takes place next summer, it will overlap as much as several months into at least one school year. During that time, parents say some students will have to ride as much as four hours a day on the bus. The school district will have to figure out how to transport lunches prepared in Perry to the elementary school in Lecompton.

Students who live on the Lecompton side of the river and drive to Perry-Lecompton High School will face a number of unattractive travel options. They can detour more than 30 miles to a bridge on the eastern edge of Topeka, driving either in rush hour traffic on the Kansas Turnpike or on the dangerous two-lane U.S. Highway 40. Or they can detour slightly further to the downtown Lawrence bridges via the turnpike, U.S. 40 or some back route. Depending on what after-school and evening activities they are involved in, they may make that trip more than once a day and sometimes after dark.

At least some families may decide the safety issues are severe enough to justify transferring their children to schools in the Lawrence district, which would benefit the Lawrence district but be a severe blow to Perry-Lecompton.

This is, admittedly, a difficult decision for commissioners. There are pros and cons on both sides. But safety and financial burdens that will be borne by Perry and Lecompton residents and businesses and their public schools provide strong arguments to keep this bridge open.