The Camp Verde Town Council is considering adding nearly $50,000 in spending to next year’s budget to help pay for eventual needed repairs and upgrades to the Black Bridge.
The Black Bridge is the span that crosses the Verde River on Montezuma Castle Highway, down from the Main Street turnoff near the Camp Verde Community Library and the adjacent Rezzonico Family Park.
The bridge is just the latest structure to carry traffic over that section of the river, yet the current incarnation of the bridge has been in service for nearly four decades. The Arizona Department of Transportation recently determined the bridge is in need of upgrades to continue to safely meet the needs of the public.
While the town is responsible for the maintenance of the Black Bridge, ADOT has given the town a bridge rehabilitation grant to help fund repairs to keep the bridge functioning presumably for the next several decades.
According to ADOT findings, the bridge will need to be overhauled with replacement of the structure’s bearing pads and expansion joints.
The grant will cover $795,000 of the cost of repairs. The town will have to pay a $48,054 match, according to Public Works Director Ron Long, with an additional $120,000 anticipated on design work.
Long reported money needs to be in the budget for the upcoming 2011-2012 fiscal year for the grant to move forward, along with the associated intergovernmental agreements required before the town can access the money.
The grant funding cycle for next year begins Saturday, Oct. 1, according to Long. The Town Council is working to get a budget in place for the next fiscal year, which begins Friday, July 1.
Putting the money in the upcoming budget would “show ADOT we are serious and to get this ball rolling,” Long said.
Once that happens, Long estimates construction on the bridge will begin sometime in fiscal year 2012-2013.
In other public works projects, the department is asking the council to roll over funding allocated this year into the next for the completion of improvements around Camp Verde.
That includes money to work on an ongoing drainage project on Cliffs Parkway and Finnie Flat Road.
Town Manager Russ Martin told council while he wasn’t sure it was necessary at first to budget $280,000 for the job in the upcoming year as part of the town’s grant funding match, further research convinced him otherwise. He suggested it would be better to plan for enough money to do the job right instead of less money spent on a less-than-satisfactory end result.
The public works department also wants to roll over funding for work on a sidewalk project on Finnie Flat Road, improvements along Hollamon Street and easements at the community park.
Other projects include upgrading sprinkler systems, culverts, paint jobs on some town buildings and funding to carry out a chip seal project to help maintain a portion of Salt Mine Road.
