Barton County is required to have all 370 bridges within the county inspected every two years. The last inspections done by Kirkham Michael were done in the spring of 2017. Barton County Engineer Barry McManaman went before the County Commissioners to inform them it is time to get the next wave of inspections started.

The Commission approved the bid from Kirkham Michael to conduct the inspections again, but Commission Chair Jennifer Schartz did ask McManaman if other bids were solicited. McManaman said no because it was hard to compete with Kirkham Michael’s location in Ellsworth and their price.

Barry McManaman Audio

Counties are federally mandated to inspect their bridges. Kirkham Michael charged $87 per bridge in 2017 and are charging $89 in 2019 for a total cost of $32,930.