Court approves patching Cold Run Creek Bridge

PRESCOTT – Residents of the Nubbin Hill area will soon be able to use the bridge over Cold Run Creek again.

The Nevada County Quorum Court, in a special called meeting Wednesday morning, voted to allow Nevada County Judge Mark Glass to accept the low bid on a patch job for the bridge to get it open. The patch will consist of the bridge being raised, the rotted wood being removed and replaced with either new cross ties or I-beams.

Glass said the paperwork from the state is in and the ball can start rolling on building a new bridge over the creek. If all goes well, he told the court, the bids will be let in November with the contract awarded in December. Depending on the weather, the job could begin as soon as January. However, he pointed, out, the reality is there will be rain delays and other setbacks pushing the project’s completion back to next summer.

M&M Construction submitted a bid of $28,000 originally for the project. Glass said he talked with the company and it submitted a different bid for a temporary fix. However, Terry Don McKinnon is also interested in the project, but won’t be able to submit a bid until Thursday. The court approved Glass going with the most economical bid for the patch job.

Questions were raised as to whether this would affect the overall project for a new bridge. Glass said the state approved the patch job and has stated it won’t affect the county getting a new bridge over the creek at all.

There were also questions as to who pays for the patch. The court was informed the county will have to pick up the tab for it, and if the bridge isn’t patched, it will remain closed until construction of a new bridge is completed. The bridge has been closed since July.

According to Glass, the patch should last several year. He said the state will set the load limit for the bridge and loaded trucks won’t be allowed on it.

The county’s portion of a new bridge will be 2 percent of the total cost or around $15,000. Glass said this will be paid out of the county’s turnback money from the state on a monthly basis for the duration of his term in office.

There was discussion of setting up cameras near the bridge to capture the image of any truckers who go over the bridge loaded. However, no decision was made concerning this issue.

Justice of the Peace Bob Cummins said a lot of deer hunters use the area for hunting. JP Dennis Pruitt said his concern was for emergency personnel being able to get through to people on a timely basis.

JP Kenneth Bailey said this was throwing good money after bad.

In the end, the court voted to patch the bridge and take the funds out of the county general budget.