Mahoning commissioners approve bridge inspection contract

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County commissioners approved a $56,619 contract with Jones-Stucky Ltd. engineering consultants of Akron to perform safety inspections of 28 of the county’s bridges to determine what their weight limits should be.

If an inspection, which measures the strength of steel and concrete, finds that a bridge is deficient, Jones-Stucky will advise the county to limit its load or close it, said Marilyn Kenner, chief deputy county engineer.

“Anything that’s deficient that we can make repairs to, we start planning our repairs based on that” inspection, Kenner said.

Kenner told the commissioners today her office wants to avoid a tragedy, such as the Aug. 1, 2007, collapse of an interstate highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, which killed 13 people and injured 145 others.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com