WELSH — After a lengthy discussion Tuesday, the town council unanimously voted to keep a bridge on Nichols Street closed until the town can afford to make necessary repairs to render the bridge safe.
Officials had been pondering spending $129,213 to make temporary repairs to reopen the bridge with a 15-ton weight limit. The limit would accommodate school buses and regular vehicle traffic, but would restrict garbage trucks, fire trucks and other heavy vehicles.
“We spent $175,000 to fix it, and that lasted roughly a year and a half,” Alderman Allen Ardoin said. “It’s not close to being where it should be, and we want to throw another $129,000 at it. It’s just a Band-Aid ... . It doesn’t make any sense throwing money at a problem.”
Town engineer Byron Racca of Meyer and Associates of Sulphur said the proposed repairs could last up to 20 years with minor pile repairs.
A complete removal and replacement of the three-span bridge would cost nearly $780,000, he said. A request for funding for the project has been submitted to the state’s capital outlay funding.
“It’s a shot in the dark, and hopefully your representatives can come through with the funding,” Racca said.
Ardoin led the motion to leave the bridge closed until the town can either save or find some money to “do it right.”
“We spent money and tried to fix it,” Alderman Bob Owens said. “It’s time to cut our losses and save money.”
The bridge was closed in late July after a state inspection found a pile cap under the substructure had rotated and that piles under the caps had cracked under stress.
The closure is an inconvenience, but most residents have “adjusted” to the closure, Ardoin said.
After considering several costly options and temporary repairs, Alderman Charles Drake said it is best to leave the bridge closed to avoid an accident.
“I don’t want it on my conscience if something happens,” Drake said.
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