The Lemon Road bridge over Kingfisher Creek, which has been closed since flooding in June 2019, received the go-ahead to be replaced Monday.

Kingfisher County commissioners approved a resolution for emergency bridge repairs at their weekly meeting.

District 1 Commissioner Jeff Moss said the estimated $2,648,806 cost project will be replaced using federal disaster funds with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation as overseer as a CIRB (County Improvements for Roads and Bridges) project.

Construction work is expected to begin during the coming year. No definite date has been set to start work.

Moss estimated actual construction work may be a year off.

The county will be responsible for land acquisition and utility relocation.

The project will involve some road straightening work.

The bridge has been closed to all travel since heavy flooding further damaged the aging bridge a year ago.

Engineering work will be provided by ODOT. CIRB state expenditures are limited to $1,032,822.

Also during the meeting, commissioners opened bids for a 2015 or newer sixwheel drive motor grader for District 1 and tabled action to allow time for additional study, opened 32 bids for roads and bridge materials and roadway work, which were also tabled to allow staff to tabulate bids lowest to highest for later action and amended the county holiday schedule adding Dec. 31, 2021, New Year’s Eve to the list.

Bids on the proposed District 1 motor grader purchase included: Yellow House, $168,300; C.L. Boyd, $180,000; Cummins Equipment, $173,000, and Warren Caterpillar, $193,000.

County Emergency Management Director Steve Loftis reported a total of 151 active coronavirus cases in the county with the expected addition of one death with Monday’s health department report. Cases by community included: Cashion 34, Dover 10, Hennessey 35, Kingfisher 45, Loyal two, Okarche 23 and Omega two.

Those attending the meeting included all commissioners — Ray Alan Shimanek, District 2, chairman, Heath Dobrovolny, District 3, vice chairman, and Moss, District 1 — Deputy County Clerk Emma Lee as minute clerk, Sheriff Dennis Banther, Dusty Bittle of Yellowhouse Equipment, Jeremy Crouch of Warren Caterpillar and Kevin Lane of RailroadYard.