Patterson mayor insists road work start today

Mayor Rodney Grogan insisted, during a special called meeting Wednesday, that work begin today on building a temporary road in case the sinking Dynamite Canal Bridge becomes too dangerous to drive on before it can be repaired.
In recent weeks, residents and city officials have seen the bridge sink a couple inches on one side because of deteriorating timbers. Several attended the special called meeting at City Hall insisting something needs to be done before, not after, the bridge becomes impassable.
Steve Bierhorst, city department of public works director, said “the bridge should not collapse” before the city gets it repaired. A specific time table for the beginning of repairs could not be given, Bierhorst said.
Paul Burke, a resident of Shady Grove subdivision who uses the bridge said, “The bridge has dropped a lot in the last week.”
The assurance “the bridge should not collapse” was not sufficient for the mayor or Councilman John Rentrop.
Rentrop said, “We need to guarantee the safety of our citizens by any means necessary. I agree with the mayor that work needs to start (Thursday).”
Grogan said, “We are not going to go with the thing that the bridge may not shift.”
Bierhorst said the property owner who agreed to allow the use of his property for a temporary road while the bridge is being repaired may not be as cooperative in allowing the property to be used for an extended time.
Grogan said the temporary road could be made, but only used once construction began if the bridge remained safe for passage.
“We need to get access just in case,” Grogan said.
The council present unanimously agreed to declare a state of emergency, which could expedite the process of getting the work done without legal formalities usually associated with a road project.
City attorney Russel Cremaldi said that while the estimated $67,000 to repair the bridge falls under the threshold for mandated advertising for bids, it remained a good idea to attempt to get three bids on the work.
Once work begins on the bridge, it should be completed within three days, Bierhorst said.
The bridge had been assessed in 2007 and found to be structurally sound according to a July 29, 2013, email from Providence, the city’s engineering firm. The 2007 report identified a need to replace the sills to the bridge though, according to the email.
Grogan said that email from Providence was prompted by his administration becoming aware of the concrete span of the bridge beginning to sink after an inspection on the bridge by Bierhorst and the public works director Dave Lowery.
Lowery emailed the mayor and said that while there was no immediate danger, an eye needed to be kept on the bridge. “Eventually we will need to have it repaired,” Lowery said in a May 30, 2013, email.