Meeker County Board Meeting

The Meeker County Board of Commissioners has awarded a bid for a bridge project on County-State-Aid-Highway 26 – south of Cedar Mills. Three bids were opened on Monday and Structural Specialties of Hutchinson had the lowest bid.

The County Board approved the bid with an estimated cost of $1,207,247.42. Public Works Director/County Engineer Phil Schmalz says it was about 9.4% over the engineer’s estimate of $1,093,599. He says they are hoping to start the project by late August.

Meeker County Bridge number 47504 is a 1963 timber structure on CSAH 26 over the South Fork of the Crow River, south of Cedar Mills. The bridge underwent a detailed structural element inspection in the spring of 2025 and was closed in May of 2025. The bridge closure was due to severe internal decay of the north abutment pile cap. Internal section loss of this timber member was measured at 77% at its most severe location. The bridge closure was not anticipated and Meeker County Public Works immediately requested consultant proposals for the replacement of the bridge after the crossing was closed.

The construction cost will be funded through a $450,000 State Bridge Bonding Grant with remaining funds coming from Meeker County’s regular CSAH Construction fund.

Schmalz also presented his annual report to the Meeker County Board of Commissioners. He says Meeker County maintains 273-miles of county-state-aid highways and there are 775-miles of township roads, of which Meeker County maintains 680-miles. Schmalz says the county has 17 plow trucks, 13 motor graders and 9 tractor/mowers to help with maintenance of the roads. He says they are looking at reducing the number of county shops from 9 to 5 in the future, and a work session will be held this fall to determine which shops to close.