Even with additional costs, the Radium bridge was still a good deal, Barton County Engineer Barry McManaman told the County Commission Monday morning.

The Arkansas River bridge deck repair project on SW 50 Avenue (Radium Road) was completed and opened to traffic on May 11, McManaman said. The original contract to L&M Contractors of Great Bend was for $398,945, well under the initial $592,007 project estimate from the Ellsworth engineering firm Kirkham Michael. 

“We got some really good prices,” he said. Even with the two cost overruns, the total was $467,265.05, still slipping in under the original target.

But, there were issues.

The surface was coated in asphalt and it was hard to tell what damage was under that coating, he said. After the first half of the deck was repaired, it was evident that the patching was going to exceed the original planned amount.

So, on Dec. 4, 2017, the commission approved an additional $54,340.55 in repair costs, of which $4,300.55 was for additional structural steel to be welded on the bridge ends with the balance to be used to pay for more patching. 

Now, after final accounting by the Engineering Office, an additional $13,979.50 is needed to pay for all of the work items, with the majority of the extra funds being for the rest of the patching, McManaman said.  

Work started on the bridge in late August. The project was originally approved on June 26, 2017.

The project consisted of concrete patching of the bridge deck followed by a concrete overlay that created a new wearing surface.

The contractors had 90 working days to complete the repairs, meaning it would likely take about four or five months. But, the firm was granted more time since the additional issues had to be addressed.