Kansas River bridge at Lecompton reopened to unrestricted traffic

06/09/2008
Douglas County Public Works announces that work to repaint the steel superstructure for the Kansas River bridge at Lecompton has been completed, and the bridge is reopened to unrestricted traffic. The temporary traffic signals allowing alternate northbound and southbound traffic across the bridge have been removed as of June 9, 2008. The repainting project was completed two months ahead of schedule. Work on the project began May 5th. Beginning May 12th one lane was closed to allow for contractor's equipment and material storage. Under terms of the contract, the contractor had until August 15, 2008 to complete the painting project. Douglas County contracted with Vimas Painting of Campbell, Ohio for this project. Vimas Painting was the low bidder of seven bidders with a total bid of $836,000. This project entailed removing the existing lead-based paint on the steel superstructure in the eight main river spans of the bridge, and repainting with an organic zinc primer and a waterborne acrylic finish coat. The steel superstructure in the three approach spans at the south end of the bridge was replaced with weathering steel last year as part of the deck replacement project, and did not require painting. The new paint is a dark brown color to match the color of weathering steel as closely as possible. Due to the lead content of the existing paint, the EPA required containment of all waste materials from the paint removal process. Soil samples near the bridge were collected and tested prior to and after the work to verify non-contamination. Douglas County and Jefferson County are sharing the cost of this project according to the assessed valuation of both counties. Current assessed valuations result in the following cost share proportions: 88.74% for Douglas County, 11.26% for Jefferson County. The purpose of the project is to preserve the good condition of the bridge's steel superstructure and maximize the life of the bridge. With completion of the repainting project, and after last year's major work, this bridge should provide excellent service for decades.

Related Links:
Douglas County Website - http://www.douglas-county.com

Media Contact:
Keith Browning, Public Works Director
Public Works Department
785-832-5293
browning@douglas-county.com