Ark Valley News - County closes Kechi bridge

County closes Kechi bridge
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: December 08, 2016

The 61st Street bridge in Kechi closed for repairs on Dec. 5. The bridge — which is between Oliver and Woodlawn — is outdated, was badly damaged by excessive flooding in July and was recently deemed unsafe.

Sedgwick County agreed that the job was an emergency and urgently took the lead to move along the construction process for the bridge, which is on one of the busiest roads in Kechi.

Earlier this month, the county determined that the utility lines near the bridge needed to be relocated and asked the city to make those changes by mid-December. The dire nature of the project allowed the city to move forward with those line relocations without shopping around for competitive bids. The water and sewer jobs were contracted, while the gas relocation was handled in-house. The city had enough money in the reserve fund to cover the costs.

A meeting was held on Nov. 29 to jumpstart the project and coordinate efforts. About 25 people with various degrees of involvement in the project attended and the responsibilities for each party were defined.

"Contractor coordination and weather concerns were key factors in the decision to move forward as soon as possible," said city administrator Bob Conger. "Weather will play a role in how quickly — or slowly — the project progresses. Other unseen delays are not anticipated, but always possible."

Conger noted that because the county is coordinating the project, the city staff will have limited knowledge on its progress. He also said local business owners have been notified so they can make any necessary adjustments. Updates on the project will be posted on the city and county Facebook pages as they become available.

The bridge is tentatively scheduled to reopen in February or March of 2017. The Kechi Police Department has been working to set up and mark detours for commuters.