Douglas County postpones planned rural bridge work because of COVID-19 pandemic

Douglas County has postponed the closure of a rural bridge until the end of the month because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bridge carrying East 1400 Road over the Wakarusa River was set to be closed for a rehabilitation project starting Monday. But the county announced in a Monday news release that the project would be postponed until March 30.

“The postponement is due to current uncertainties regarding worker and materials availabilities in light of COVID-19,” the county said in the release.

The bridge is the old Louisiana Street alignment, about 3/4 of a mile north of North 1100 Road, according to the release.

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The project was originally expected to be completed by the end of May. But with the postponement, the work is now expected to be completed by June 12.

Once the project begins, the bridge is expected to be closed to all traffic, and no signed detour will be provided. Instead, U.S. Highway 59, 1 mile west of the project, and Route 1055/East 1500 Road, 1 mile east of the project, will be alternate routes during the closure, according to the release.

County commissioners awarded the project to Wildcat Construction, the low bidder at $306,350. Funding comes from the county’s capital improvement program, according to the release.