Bridge Match Program Currently Unfunded
By Gordon Hopkins
Jefferson County has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the County Bridge Match Program, which is why County Commissioners were disappointed to learn that the program is currently on “hiatus,” as the legislature had opted not to fund the program.
Highway Engineer Tim Farmer updated commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday, April 7, “The Bridge Match Program is in hiatus. It’s not necessarily dead. It’s just, there’s no mechanism to fund it this year.”
Under the program, which began in 2016, counties receive 55 percent of the construction costs, up to $500,000 per project, for approved bridge projects. Approval is determined by a working group consisting of two county officials. Such as highway superintendents, surveyors or engineers, and three NDOT representatives.
This infrastructure program is seen by county officials as essential for improving public safety and ensuring reliable transportation for goods and services, especially in Southeast Nebraska, where a great of the state’s bridges are located. Without it, counties that cannot afford to repair bridges will either have to close those bridges or raise property taxes to pay for repairs.
Earlier this year, Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock testified in front of the Nebraska Legislature to support extending the program. He said at that time, “In my nearly eleven years as a Jefferson County Commissioner, Jefferson County has been a leader in Nebraska in this program thanks to the efforts and dedication of our county highway department and county engineer. We have replaced ten worn out and unsafe bridges at a cost of $2,423,985. We have received 52 percent of that total, or $1,267,943 in funding assistance from the Nebraska County Bridge Match program. We would not have been able to afford most of those projects within the county budget or would have had to significantly raise our tax asking of county citizens if it were not for the program. Additionally, we have partnered with Saline, Seward, and Fillmore counties on four of the applications for a total of 22 projects and the citizens in those counties have benefited as well.”
Senator Tom Brandt (District 32) introduced LB 1218, which would continue to fund the program for two more years. That bill not get out of select file.
“We’ll have to resurrect that in January,” said Schoenrock, who is currently running for Senator Brandt’s seat in the Legislature. “That’s one of my top priorities.”
