Codington County seeks state help to repair more bridges

Codington County will seek assistance from the State of South Dakota to repair or replace four more bridges on county roads.

“We’ve got a lot of crappy bridges,” said county Highway Superintendent Rick Hartley as he prepared to review the applications Tuesday morning during the county commission meeting.

Commissioners approved the applications to the state’s Bridge Improvement Grant (BIG) program. If accepted onto the BIG schedule, the county will likely pay less than 20% of repair costs. The county will also have to pay a portion of the engineering studies needed for each BIG candidate.

The county already has four bridges approved for BIG funding.

The latest candidate bridges are located on:

• 453 Avenue, .4 miles south of 168th Street, over the Big Sioux River. County to pay $36,400 of engineering study cost.
• Oak Street, .2 miles east of 460th Avenue, over Willow Creek. County to pay $14,674 for study.
• 162nd Street, .4 miles east of 451st Avenue, over Big Sioux River. County to pay $13,480.
• 177th Street, .5 miles east of 457th Avenue, over Big Sioux River. County to pay $14,580.

All four bridges currently have load limits placed upon them.

Increased caseload for Codington County Sheriff

Sheriff Brad Howell reported his office dealt with 658 cases and calls in June, the highest number since 724 in July of 2023. The county reported 16 accidents to the state and handed out 68 warrants and 199 civil papers. Deputies transported 28 individuals on 20 trips covering 4,831 miles.

Howell said the 237 bookings, the most in at least the past 13 months, was in part due to the court system completing more cases. The county’s 24/7 monitoring programs handled 110 non-incarcerated lawbreakers last month.

National Night Out, an annual program to connect citizens and law enforcement personnel, will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 6 at Bramble Park Zoo. Besides the county officers and Watertown police, Howell said members of county Search and Rescue and Watertown Fire and Rescue will take part in the event.

During the meeting’s public comment session, newly elected District 4 representative candidate Kent Roe introduced himself to the commission. Roe, a Republican from Thomas, currently is unopposed in November’s general election.

Roe and commissioners briefly discussed the November ballot issue regulation of liquid carbon dioxide being shipped through underground pipelines to a North Dakota location. Commissioner Lee Gabel also mentioned the county's inability to generate revenue other than through property taxes.

In other actions, the commissioners:

• Approved a July 25 fireworks show request from Marty Bertsch at 1717 31st St. NE. The show is part of a birthday celebration.
• Approved a plat resolution in the JAD Addition in Leola Township along Punished Woman Lake. The changes include creating a 10-acre lot and a 50-acre lot.
• Approved an action to advertise for and hire a correctional officer to fill a vacancy created by a resignation.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Codington County seeks state help to repair more bridges