Summer weather has arrived here in Nodaway County with hot "sticky" humidity and warm temperatures. The corn crop is starting to look better and the late planted, and replaced soybeans, are beginning to look like they may make a crop yet. It seems strange that just a few weeks ago we were complaining about too much rain and now the farmers are beginning to be concerned that it may turn dry due to the "spotty" showers we are receiving. There is little doubt that we must have a shower about every week or so due to shallow rooting of the crops. With the input costs of planting a crop, we need to pray for good weather so our farmers can have a profitable year.

Our road and bridge supervisor pointed out that there is an advantage to the large size of Nodaway County. He explained that if it rains in one area, it often is dry enough to work somewhere else where the showers missed. Apparently the rain has not been widespread enough to stop our construction and repair efforts and both crews are keeping busy with several projects underway. I pointed out last week that we had several projects that required attention in the northeast part of the county, especially in Independence, Hopkins, and Union Townships. Both crews are working in that area replacing tubes, and numerous bridge approaches are getting some much needed attention.

The BRO bridge project on Road #90 near the intersection of 140th Street and Glacier Road north and east of Clearmont in Atchison Township is progressing well. Although this bridge was originally a federal highway tax funded project it was severely damaged in last year's May flooding and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State Emergency Management Agency deemed it a worthy project for their emergency funds. The construction company has all the approach concrete in place and the beams installed. They will soon start placing the deck for the concrete floor. We hope to have this new bridge open for traffic this summer and alleviate the inconvenience of detours to those folk in the area.

I have not had enough space to mention our latest large bridge project here in the county. The commission opened bids for a federally funded BRO project June 11. This bridge on Road #952 will span Upper Neely Branch east of Missouri Route N on 390th Street in Grant Township. The new structure will replace an old wooden bridge that has required constant maintenance and actually the day before bids were opened, a farm machine broke through the side of the deck requiring immediate repair.

The commission received six bids for this new addition to our county infrastructure with C&C Bridge Company submitting the low bid. The bids ranged from $289,904.40 to C&C's  low of $251,970.25. The engineers' cost estimate of replacement was $252,720.75 which was obviously just a small amount more than the low bid. This project will begin soon with completion expected before harvest. This bridge is important to the farmers and residents in the area. It is not only a mail route, but also a school bus route and we want all of our structures safe for travel.

Bob Stiens and myself met with officials from the Federal Emergency Watershed Protection Agency this afternoon (Tuesday) at the closed Maffit Bridge to determine if the county can receive any Exigency funding to reopen the road for traffic. As mentioned this past week, the agency required us to submit an estimate of daily travel use, current bridge value costs to repair the structure, and a total replacement cost. The county has no record of daily travel on Road #741 but estimates range from 50 to 100 vehicles per day according to the season. Our bridge engineer valued the structure at $408,144 and the replacement cost at $628,320.

The meeting with those officials was positive and they believed that there may be money available. Preliminary estimates to repair the bridge and line the stream banks with large rip-rap rock are "in the neighborhood" of approximately $400,000. The structure is a very solid  bridge and the commission would like to repair the bridge rather than put it on the BRO replacement program as this would take several years before it would be eligible and be constructed.

For those interested in history, the Maffit Bridge was a used bridge purchased by the county in 1974 and moved from Atchison County approximately four miles west of Westboro. It was cut into two sections, moved, and then reassembled on the stream bank and rolled on the piers on a rail track. The bridge was constructed in 1946 but is a very solid structure and if the approaches and stream banks are stabilized, will serve the area residents for several more decades. A historical footnote to the Maffit Bridge is that the total cost in 1974 for the structure and construction was $130,000. That will not repair one end of the approach today.

The Administration Center construction is progressing but not as visibly as prior to the red iron erection. The floor pan installation is nearly one-half complete and the concrete contractor is forming the small room on the east side of the structure that will house the emergency back-up electrical generating system. All of the lower level concrete is in place and the masonry contractor is beginning to lay block for the elevator shaft.

The Nodaway County Fair will be held in the downtown area next week and the commission extends an invitation to everyone to view the new building but we strongly caution not attempting to get on the job site. We certainly do not want any one injured. Enjoy the fair and be safe.