Lewis County Fiscal Court has been awarded emergency road aid funds to replace a dangerous bridge.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesperson Allen Blair said $39,900 was awarded to the court Monday (Feb. 10) in order to replace Butler Branch Bridge, located on Butler Branch Road off Laurel Road in Vanceburg.
The bridge was a topic of discussion during a December 2013 meeting, in which County Road Supervisor Bob Moore and representatives from KTC told the court the bridge was in desperate need of replacement.
Moore said the bridge has several issues with the decking, beams and abutments.
"The decking is bad, the beams are terrible," Moore said, during the December meeting. "Pretty much everything is wrong with the bridge."
"I wouldn't ride my bicycle across it," KTC representative Larry Tincher said. "It's terrible and it's not safe for anyone to be on."
"The entire bridge just needs to be replaced," Judge-Executive Todd Ruckel added.
According to Blair, the aid money is being taken out of the gas tax project fund.
"Counties who participate in the project can apply for the money when they are doing projects that they need extra money to complete," said Blair.
The gas tax project fund is money taken in from Kentucky's fuel tax. The money is divided between the counties and the state for road projects. A portion of the state's money is set aside to allow emergency aid money to be given to participating counties, according to Blair.
Story by Christy Hoots and The Ledger Independent
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