Noting the use of large, heavy equipment over a concrete box culvert a mile and a half north of Claflin, the Barton County Commission Tuesday morning approved a $73,745 bid from L&M Contractors of Great Bend to widen the structure, which is basically a large culvert or a short bridge.

The box is located NE 130 Avenue just north of NE 130 Road, and L&M submitted the only bid by the Oct. 20 deadline.

“It’s primarily a safety issue,” said County Engineer Barry McManaman when making the request. Currently, the box is narrow and there is a steep, sudden drop-off at both approaches.

The blacktop over the reinforced concrete box is about 10 and a half feet above the ditch below. And, the road is 22 feet wide with the concrete railings about 28 feet apart, putting them close to the edge of the road creating another hazard. 

“We’re going to add six feet to each side,” he said. “It will be a nice safety improvement in my opinion.”

The contractor will remove the rails and extend the box “so we end up with gentler side slopes and a drop-off that is quite a bit further from the edge of the road,” he said.

“There is a lot of oil and ag traffic on that road,” said District 1 Commissioner Duane Reif. So, making this improvement only makes sense.

McManaman said L&M will likely get started in a couple weeks and should be done by mid December. 

The contractor will flag traffic as necessary while they work on the road during daylight hours, so there will be some minor delays, he said. But vehicles will be allowed through the work zone.

They will remove equipment from the road every evening and on weekends, and traffic will be unrestricted then.