Mona Bleeker and Steve Pence with Iowa River’s Edge Trail updated the Hardin County Board of Supervisors Wednesday on the bridge that will be built near Gifford.
Bleeker, who is President of the Iowa River’s Edge Trail, said “we’re finally starting to see some movement” with the trail project.
Last week, she said Hardin County and the Iowa DOT accepted a quote from Boulder Construction to demolish an old railroad bridge (number 18) over the South Fork Iowa River north of Gifford. Demolition will begin in the next couple of weeks.
“We’ve had a complete ‘blow out’ of the bridge and the water channel has been diverted around the edge of it,” she said. “It’s causing quite a bit of destruction to private land and walnut trees on property there.”
The approval to move forward was because of the “dire” condition of the bridge. Bleeker showed the Supervisors an image of the proposed clear span bridge that will have two pylons on each side, “with an area for people to stop and view up and down the river,” Bleeker said.