Despite pleas from area residents and business owners, Douglas County commissioners Wednesday night voted 2-1 in favor of closing the Kansas River bridge at Lecompton next year when it undergoes major repairs.

Commissioners Bob Johnson and Charles Jones said they made their decision not because it would save money, but because they think it would allow for construction of a better bridge and also because they think it will be a safer option for construction workers and area residents.

Commissioner Jere McElhaney said he favors leaving one lane of the bridge open when construction workers put a new deck on the 36-year-old bridge.

“In a way it kind of goes against my professional judgment, but I’m going to take your word for it, not mine,” McElhaney told the crowd of about 60 people who gathered in the Douglas County Courthouse.

Jefferson County commissioners also attended the meeting but did not take a vote. The bridge spans the border of the two counties and the two will share the cost of the bridge project proportionately based on each county’s property valuation. That would mean Douglas County would pay an estimated 89 percent and Jefferson County 11 percent.

The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday voted in favor of closing the Kansas River bridge at Lecompton, shown Wed-nesday, during construction next year. The issue now goes to the Jefferson County Commission.

Jefferson County commissioners will vote on the matter during their own regular meeting in the near future. Commissioners David Christy and Lynn Luck said they would vote to keep the bridge open.

“I think the economic impact to the businesses is just too great,” Christy said after the meeting.

Luck agreed. The summer months when the bridge would be closed for the repairs will sap business from stores that rely on people crossing the bridge on their way to Perry Lake, she said.

“Those are their big months,” she said.

Jefferson County Commissioner Francis Grollmes also attended the meeting but had to leave before it was over.

What happens if the two commissions disagree? None of the commissioners knew for sure.

“It seems to me if Douglas County is going to pay the majority of the cost, then we ought not to hide behind the decision,” Johnson said. “I feel comfortable with it.”

Before the vote, several Lecompton and Perry area residents and business owners spoke up in favor of leaving one lane of the bridge open. Among them was Perry-Lecompton schools Supt. Steve Johnston.

Among Johnston’s concerns was the 30-plus mile detour between the schools in the two towns, with students living on both sides of the river. He said he thought many parents would try to send their students to Lawrence schools to avoid the disruption the bridge closure would cause.

Safety concerns voiced by residents included forcing teenage drivers to spend more time on other nearby highways traveling between the two areas. School bus rides would be longer.

Mail service would be disrupted and businesses would lose 30 percent or more of their business because of the closure, commissioners were told.

Lecompton City Councilman Bruce Liese said he was speaking for the entire council in requesting that the bridge be left open. He also presented a petition he said contained the names of more than 1,500 people who wanted the bridge left open.

Liese also said the social fabric of Lecompton and Perry would be damaged by closing the bridge.

“The communities are intimately connected to each other,” Liese said. “There are people in Lecompton who would be cut off completely from people they love.”

Jones and Johnson said they think accommodations can be made to lessen the hardships, including working with the Kansas Highway Patrol on ways to increase safety and Lawrence school board and district officials to prevent unnecessary transfers of students because of the bridge closure.

If Douglas County commissioners’ wishes are followed, the bridge would be closed for 140 working days and the redecking project would cost more than $3.3 million.

If one lane is left open, the project would take an estimated 320 working days and cost $4.07 million. There would still be periods when the bridge would have to close entirely for several days, however, according to an engineering study.