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| Judge Executive Jim Townsend |
by MATT HUGHES
J-E News Editor
County officials were notified a few weeks ago that a bridge on Breton Bottom Road near Sebree had begun to deteriorate and could no longer handle a full load. Currently the state has placed a nine ton weight restriction on the bridge, and the county must start preparing to replace it.
Judge Executive Jim Townsend said that he has already started getting estimates on the project.
“We’ve already received two estimates, and both of them were over $250,000,” he said. “We’re trying to find a way to get the money. In the past the state has helped us with other bridges through State Road Aide.”
But for Townsend, having to find a quarter of a million dollars for a new bridge isn’t the worst part. The hard to swallow part is that the bridge was built by the state and used to be their responsibility.
Thirty years ago Breton Bottom Road was State Highway 495, but sometime in the late 1980’s the fiscal court decided to trade roads with the state. Webster County took over maintenance of 495 and gave the state Eastwood Road located between the Pennyrile Parkway and the Green River.
“I didn’t like the idea trading roads then and I still don’t,” said Townsend.