After seven long months of construction, the bridge spanning the North Skunk River just east of Lynnville on Hwy. F62 E. is now open to traffic. The long-awaited opening was announced on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 13, much to the relief of frequent drivers of the road who have taken gravel or lengthy detours since April.
Observed condition issues with the deck and underlying structure of the bridge, which increased the risk of reduced load capacity and therefore would restrict its use, prompted the bridge replacement project. Additionally, the old bridge was not wide enough to meet current standards. This stretch of Hwy. F62 E. between Lynnville and Searsboro is a vital east-west transportation route between Jasper and Poweshiek Counties and on average, carries 1,120 vehicles per day.
Jasper County Engineer Michael J. Frietsch explains work on the bridge started on Apr. 1, when crews started removing the existing bridge. By mid-April, the contractor – Peterson Contractors, Inc. (PCI) – started driving steel H-pile for the east pier. Construction on the east pier continued into May when PCI crews also started driving pile for the east abutment.
The east pier and abutment were completed by the middle of May, and PCI spent the rest of the month completing removal of the west end of the old bridge.
In June, construction of the west pier and west abutment were completed. In July, crews removed the remainder of the old east pier and prepared the site for picking and setting beams. During the rainy month of July, nine working days were deemed too wet for construction, which set back progress slightly.
Dryer weather in August sent North Skunk River water levels back to normal, which allowed PCI to resume construction of a temporary crossing followed by the delivery, picking, and setting of the beams. Those beams were set the first week of August, and crews spent the remainder of the month setting forms and installing reinforcing bar for the bridge deck. Once the bridge deck was poured in mid-September, work shifted to the final grading and shaping of the channel at the bridge and approach pavement areas. This work carried over into October, and eventually crews transitioned to the installation of culverts, placement of riprap, and pouring the open railing along the edge of the bridge. The final steps of installing the guardrail and completing pavement markings were finalized in mid-November.
During the construction, the official detour utilized both state routes and Mahaska County highways, although many locals used nearby gravel roads to navigate around the bridge site.
