The Ward Road bridge opened last week after indications that it wouldn’t be finished until next year.
Traffic was allowed on the bridge on Nov. 21, but finishing touches will be made next spring. Signs will remain up on Interstate 29 for the detour until after next year when the bridge is paved. It will have to be closed down for the paving at that point, said Marc Blum, Moody County highway superintendent. At that time, approach rails also will have to be taken down and reinstalled.
The surface is gravel for now.
In October, the bridge builder, Robert G. Schroeder of Goodwin, Minn., said it would not complete the project before the Nov. 1 state deadline to pour the decks.
But once the state said it would enforce fines at $1,300 for each working day throughout the winter for being late on the contract deadline, the company sent additional help and decided to finish the project this year.
The project was delayed this summer by unusually wet weather, high water levels under the bridge and equipment failures. But an engineer overseeing the project for Clark Engineering also said the company did not send enough people to adequately staff the building process.
The bridge has been closed for three harvests after it failed, and before that, had a load limit to cross it. The project is being paid for with a state Bridge Improvement Grant that has a partial match from Moody County.
In other bridge updates, work on the Doyle bridge is behind schedule. The contract says the bridge will be completed by Nov. 30, but it appears it will take longer, and concrete hadn’t been poured as of the Nov. 20 commission meeting, Blum said.

Work on the south side of the Gullickson bridge was scheduled for this week, and a mid-December completion is expected, he said.

County hires deputy
Sheriff Troy Wellman has hired Robert “R.J.” Severude for a part-time deputy position. Severude, who was most recently the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe chief of police, was terminated from that job Nov. 9. That same day, tribal officer Robert Seagle resigned.
The tribe will be hiring to fill those positions on its staff of four officers, according to its human resources department. In the meantime, Brian Arnold, who was the tribal police chief until Severude was hired last spring, will again be the acting chief of police.
Tribal representatives would not say why Severude was fired.
Severude will be paid $18.17 an hour as a part-time county deputy.
Wellman said he would like to start hiring for the sixth deputy position planned for next year’s county budget.
But commissioners said the county and city should first at least talk about whether there would be savings or a benefit to going back to providing joint law enforcement in the county because policing has become a growing budget cost.
“Is there a better way to look at covering that?” asked Rick Veldkamp, commissioner. “I think it’s time we have a discussion with them.”
Wellman said he sees the benefits of county-wide enforcement. He, along with commissioners, would like to see what that could look like in staffing and budgeting.
“I’m in favor of having that conversation,” Wellman said. “Having the conversation makes sense.”
Marty Skroch, assistant to the commission, said he would reach out to the city and see if a meeting can be set up to talk about the issue. The county also would be willing to talk with the tribe if they are interested.
The city police department has seven officers, while the county has five. The tribe has four positions.