Kansas bridges are aging, including near Clearwater

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Construction on the project to replace the nearly 70-year-old bridge southwest of Clearwater won’t start until next Monday.

The replacement is typical for a bridge of its age.

It’s part of a larger cohort of aging infrastructure in Kansas, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The Clearwater bridge has spanned the Ninnescah River since 1955.

“Bridges have a terminal life,” said Lynn Packer, Sedgwick County Public Works Director. “You’ll get anywhere from 50 to 90 to 100 years out of a bridge.”

The Clearwater bridge, maintained by Sedgwick County, is in poor condition and approaching the end of its lifespan.

KDOT keeps track of the condition of city, county, state and federally-maintained bridges in Kansas.

“A lot of bridges are coming up for their design life, and those are naturally gonna need more maintenance to keep up,” said Mark Hurt, KDOT Structures and Geotechnical Services Bureau Chief.

In previous years, the state didn’t put funding into regularly maintaining those older bridges, leading to shorter lifespans, according to Hurt.

“It’s like working on your house or your car,” Hurt said. “If you keep things maintained, that’s simply the lowest cost overall.”

The state is spending extra money on repairs now because of those years of neglect, according to Hurt.

Sedgwick County has been doing its part to maintain the bridge in Clearwater, Packer said.

“We rehabbed it last in 2011. We did some deck work on it to get us about 10 more years,” Packer said. “We got 12.”

KDOT is working to prevent an influx of needed repairs on aging bridges, according to Hurt.

“We have been trying to work on that and anticipate that for the past few years and making sure we get the adequate funding to make sure there’s no big wave,” Hurt said.

According to him, the department regularly works to secure funding several years before bridges need major repairs.

Even though construction on the Clearwater bridge has been delayed a week, it’s expected to wrap up on schedule at the end of the summer.