County Awards Bridge Inspection Contract to Schwab Eaton for 213 Bridges

The Saline County Commission approved a 2027 bridge inspection proposal, awarding the contract to Schwab Eaton, County Engineer Justin Mader told commissioners.

Mader said the county is responsible for maintaining an inventory of 213 bridges and that federal regulations require routine inspections at prescribed intervals under the National Bridge Inventory standards. He said new SNBI requirements have significantly increased the data collection, documentation and quality assurance required for each inspection. The engineering department, which has historically performed inspections in-house, currently lacks a KDOT-qualified bridge inspection team leader on staff and the staffing capacity to complete the expanded requirements.

The department issued a request for proposals on April 23 and recommended Schwab Eaton, citing the firm's experience inspecting more than 1,000 bridges for over 20 bridge owners in the past two years, its KDOT-certified personnel, and a local office in Salina. The firm submitted a fee of $195 per bridge for a total cost of $41,535 to inspect all 213 bridges. Mader said the project would be paid from the county's special bridge account, which had an unencumbered balance of about $1,061,000.

Mader explained that under the federal definition, a structure qualifies as a bridge if it spans more than 20 feet, which can include certain box culverts and pipe configurations. The motion (RFA 2026-73) passed unanimously.