Contractors are working with the Park County Public Works Department to install a new, modular bridge west of Meeteetse that provides access to oil and gas fields and the ghost town of Kirwin.

“After a slow start we are making good progress ...,” the county department recently reported on Facebook.

Measuring 120 feet by 24 feet wide, it will be the first modular bridge of its kind to be installed on a Park County road.

“The beauty of these modular bridges is they’re fairly simple,” said County Engineer Brian Edwards. He’s said the modular option is more cost effective, with $850,000 budgeted for the replacement.

The structure will show up at the site in six pieces, be set in place by a crane and then bolted together over the course of a few days, Edwards said.

But first, concrete abutments are being built by Reiman Construction of Cheyenne. The company will complete the work over the coming weeks as weather allows.

Formally known as Bridge DDO, the structure crosses the Wood River along County Road 4DT. The bridge is used daily by gravel trucks, logging trucks and oil service trucks. It also provides access to the Shoshone National Forest — including the Kirwin area.

However, the existing structure is aging and has structural deficiencies.

“The bridge is of concern,” Edwards told commissioners in July, adding in a recent email that it’s “no longer sufficient for current and future use.”

Following the winter of 2018-19, the Wyoming Department of Transportation directed the county to post load limits on the bridge — which led to complaints from several of the businesses that use the bridge.

“In particular, a large oil/gas developer in the area complained that all their oil tanker trucks and work-over rigs exceed the limits,” Park County Public Works officials told Wyoming lawmakers in an August 2019 presentation. “Not being able to use the bridge costs them thousands of dollars every day.”

WYDOT recommended the county issue heavy load permits to allow companies to exceed the limits for a specific number of trips per day and only at slow speeds. However, Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric was uncomfortable with the county taking over that process, according to the public works presentation, and the county left the load limits in place. Despite that, “it is clear that the heavy loads continue to use the bridge as it is critical to their operations,” said public works’ 2019 presentation. The department submitted the information in support of having WYDOT include county bridges within its heavy load permitting process.

The new Wood River bridge is being constructed just upstream/west of the old one — which will be demolished when the work is done, Edwards said.

At $289,432, True North Steel was the low bidder among three suppliers who submitted offers on the steel bridge over the summer. T-O Engineers of Cody, meanwhile, was selected to aid with the design and construction of the abutments, estimating their services would cost around $25,155. As for Reiman’s concrete work, it’s expected to cost around $250,000, Edwards said. To save on costs, the county’s road and bridge crew is doing the dirt work.

The project is expected to be finished before high waters arrive in the spring.