Three bridges in Christian County will be replaced soon thanks to money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Christian County Commissioners plan to replace the Green, Hawkins, and Red bridges.
They’re more than 100 years old.
ARPA will provide $8.1 million dollars to design and building the bridges.
Press Release
The Christian County Commission is pleased to announce its intention to replace three
structurally deficient bridges using funds received as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Green Bridge, Hawkins Bridge, and Red Bridge are all over 100 years old and have reached the end
of their useful lives.
They currently do not allow proper access for emergency, school, agricultural
and public services.
“These three bridges have been a source of great concern for several years”, said Presiding
Commissioner Ralph Phillips. “We experienced the disruption caused by the closing of Riverside
Bridge. Closure of these bridges would present an even larger problem as they are located in places
where State or Federal assistance would not typically be available. This has been a huge financial
liability hanging over the County.”
In total, the Commission has set aside $8.1 million of its ARPA allocation to fund the design and
construction of these bridges.
Eastern Commissioner Hosea Bilyeu commented, “These are the types of projects with long lasting benefits we have been hoping to achieve with the use of these ARPA funds. They may not seem glamorous today, but the benefits of secured connectivity and access to emergency and public services in these areas will be felt for generations to come.”
Christian County Highway Administrator Miranda Beadles will oversee these projects. Her expectation is to hit the ground running in order to complete these projects within the timeframe allowed under ARPA. She added “I’m appreciative that the Commission acted decisively on this proposal as this will hopefully give us a leg up on other communities with similar ideas with whom we will be competing to secure materials and labor for infrastructure projects.”
While a detailed timeline for these projects has not yet been established, citizens can expect these
improvements to occur over the next two to three years which is well within the time allowed to
obligate and complete ARPA funded projects.
By adding these bridge replacement projects into the County’s overall plan to utilize its ARPA funds, the County Commission has now identified and budgeted a complete list of planned projects and uses which account for the entire amount received at the County level.
As a result, the County Commission has suspended the review of additional project proposals related to the use of ARPA funding until further notice.
