Although railroad signal lines won’t be removed by the time repair work is scheduled to start next month on the Lecompton bridge, the reconstruction project will begin on schedule, Douglas County Engineer Keith Browning said.

“They will definitely close the bridge on March 12, and the plan is still to have it open by August 10,” Browning said, referring to the contractor, A.M. Cohron & Son Inc.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks run east and west under the south end of the bridge, which spans the Kansas River. Along the tracks are poles carrying railroad signal lines. The lines under or near the bridge need to be buried so they won’t be damaged by falling debris during the bridge work.

But BNSF has informed Browning that its crews are busy on another major project and won’t be able to get to the lines before April 15. The bridge project involves replacing the deck and work will begin on the north end, Browning said. A crane will be set on the south end of the bridge while that work is going on, he said.

The cost of the bridge project is $2.518 million, excluding the painting of the superstructure, which will take place after the deck is replaced. The county also is paying the railroad for the cost of burying the signal lines, which is more than $68,000.

County commissioners want the bridge reopened by Aug. 10 so it will not disrupt the start of the next academic year in the Perry-Lecompton school district. The district is preparing plans to deal with the closing for the last couple of months of this school year.

The bridge contractor is studying different ways to reform the deck that might speed up the project, Browning said. A key element is whether those options would affect the long-term maintenance of the bridge once it is completed.

County Commissioner Jere McElhaney, who represents the Lecompton area, said he didn’t foresee any serious problems with the delay in burying the railroad signal lines.

“I’m a contractor, also, and you always have it in your mind how you want to start or how you want the project to move forward, but many times you change course in mid-direction,” said McElhaney, who owns McElhaney Fence Builders.