Blue Earth County Commissioners on Tuesday accepted a bid from a construction company to remove the damaged County Road 9 bridge next to the Rapidan Dam.
The county received seven bids, all of them over the county’s estimate of $1 million.
The winning bidder was Hosier Worldwide, of Deer River, with a bid of $1.16 million. The bid is 14% over the estimate. The highest bid was 254% over estimates.
The bridge piers are failing because of erosion after heavy rain in June, which caused the Blue Earth River to bypass the dam, located just downstream from the bridge.
Commissioners have decided to replace the bridge but remove the dam. The bridge, constructed in 1985, hasn’t been open since the June flooding.
Building a new bridge and removing the dam likely won’t start for years, as the county goes through state and federal agency studies to secure funding for both projects.
The county will seek federal funding to cover much of the dam removal costs. Staff was directed to work with FEMA on options.