A contractor is moving along with tearing the deck off the Blue Earth County 9 bridge, just upriver of the Rapidan Dam.
“The planning for the demolition took a little longer so they were a little behind on the start date,” said Stefan Gantert, assistant county public works director.
But he said they still expect the bridge’s removal to be done before the start of spring when snowmelt and rains will raise the river.
Gantert said the contractor, Hosier Worldwide of Deer River, needed to find an engineer to help in the planning process and the engineer worked with the county and the contractor on planning the demolition.
“We want to make sure we do the proper planning to take it down safely.”
The material removed from the bridge is being taken to a demolition landfill.
The contractor built access roads down to the river bed on the east and west sides of the bridge. Workers also built a rip-rap causeway under the dam so they can divert the Blue Earth River’s flow to the east or west side of the channel as they work on removing the bridge.
The $1.16 million project is being paid for by the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency funding program.
The county is in the early stages of awarding contracts for environmental and design work on a new bridge, which also will be funded by the federal government.
Work on the replacement bridge won’t happen until 2026 or 2027.
The new bridge is expected to be built exactly — or very close to — where the current bridge is.
The bridge piers are failing because of erosion after heavy rains in June, which caused the Blue Earth River to bypass the dam, located just downstream from the bridge.
The development drew national and state attention as erosion claimed a home along the bank. It next threatened the homeowners’ iconic Dam Store, prompting the county to buy it and tear it down.
While county commissioners decided to replace the bridge, they voted to remove the dam. The county is seeking funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove the dam. It is likely to take years to secure the funding before removal of the dam will start.