Madison City Commission hears report on city’s bridge system

The city of Madison’s bridge system is currently in good shape, according to a report presented to Madison City Commissioners during their meeting on Monday.  

Mark Junker, an engineer with Banner Associates, presented the results of Banner’s 2021 inspections on the city’s bridge system.  Junker said that its a federal requirement that bridges be inspected every two years for the safety of the public.

Junker said there are seventeen bridges within the city, with nine inspections performed this year.  He said that not all are inspected because some are box culverts that are only required to be inspected every four years. 

Junker outlined for commissioners some of the repairs and maintenance work that is needed on the bridge structures that were inspected.

Junker said there are two structures that are a little older that they will be monitoring for defects, including a bridge on Northwest 5th Street where there are some piles rotting, and a box culvert on Northeast 2nd Street where there is some concrete deterioration. 

He said that there are no structural concerns with any of the city’s bridges at this time.  Junker said he met with Ryan Hegg, the city’s Building Official and Engineer Technician, and Gary Gonyo, the city’s Streets Director, to go over the specifics of any of the maintenance items.