County approves reapplying for federal BUILD grant to replace Murray Bridge

Humboldt County board members voted to reapply for U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD (round 3) funding to support the Murray Bridge replacement project. County staff member Ben told the board the county previously received about $2,000,000 through an Iowa DOT competitive highway bridge program and is seeking an additional $2 million to $2.5 million from BUILD.

"We've received $2,000,000 in federal funding for this project through the Iowa DOT's competitive highway bridge program," Ben said, and described plans to reapply now that round three is open. He said the project previously scored highly but lost out when federal allocations ran short.

Officials outlined project costs and recent spending: design and environmental contracts were described as roughly $300,000 in total, with approximately $140,000 spent so far. Ben said the BUILD round 3 application will carry an application fee the county must pay, estimated in the meeting at between $7,500 and $10,000.

A motion to approve reapplying for the BUILD grant was made and seconded; the board approved the motion by voice vote, recorded in the transcript as carrying. The board also discussed logistics for the project if funded, including changing alignment to carry a new bridge straight north on Elm Avenue and potential reuse or disposal options for the existing steel-truss bridge.

The board instructed staff to gather supporting letters from industry partners and emergency management and to proceed with the BUILD round 3 application. No final construction contract was awarded at the meeting and the project's federal funding remains contingent on BUILD selection.