(1/10) The Thurmont commissioners awarded a contract during their January 12 meeting to initiate proposed repairs to be made on the Frederick Road Bridge which spans Hunting Creek.

The contract was awarded to Marine Technologies, Inc., the lowest of three bidders, who stated they could perform the repairs for $87,300. The money will be provided by using capital reserve funds.

The bridge is located immediately adjacent to the town’s Public Works office, the Food Bank, and the Community Park. The bridge was built in 1928 and reconstructed in 1984. The work on the repairs this year will result in one-lane traffic for short intervals.

Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick told the News-Journal that the bridge is inspected annually by an engineering firm, contracted by Frederick County, and that over the past several years, various recommendations for repairs have been generated as a result of these annual inspections.

Humerick stated that none of the repairs involve portions of the bridge regarded as being as critical, adding, "but we want to be proactive and make the repairs now … to extend the life of the bridge."

Most of the work proposed involves sealing cracks, repairing areas damaged by spalling on the concrete beams, providing scour protection, stabilizing gabions, and sidewalk replacement.

Spalling is a form of degradation that occurs on or within concrete structures as the result of stress, or the expansion and contraction of steel reinforcement bars embedded within the concrete. The end result is the breaking-up of the concrete thereby producing cracks and generating flakes or other loose pieces of concrete.

Scour protection involves applying various methods to protect the foundation of the bridge from eroding, while gabions are generally wire cages containing rocks … utilized in stabilizing the embankments to prevent damage as the result of stream erosion.

Mayor John Kinnaird noted that the proposed repairs are superficial, and those aren’t really structural issues, but are more like cosmetic issues which could later lead to structural issues if not addressed.

Superintendent of Public Works Harold Lawson had previously noted that the bridge was determined as being in "poor condition," and that the repairs could extend the life of the bridge 10 to 20 years.

Regarding the timeframe for working-on and completing the bridge repairs, Lawson said the window for such work would run from April 30 to October 1. The bidders were told that the work needs to be completed by September 30.