Government

Routt County seeks $625,000 more for deficient Moon Hill Bridge, backs all-electric fix for Annex cooling

Commissioners approved the grant application Oct. 27. County staff said the Annex fix could take $750,000 to $800,000 in the 2027 budget, about double a consultant's estimate.

Graphic: $625,000 more sought for the Moon Hill Bridge; Routt County commissioners approved the application Oct. 27 and backed an all-electric fix for the Annex's failed cooling. Bridge estimate $2,453,929; 2023 grant $1,828,125; Annex, staff's budget figure $750,000 to $800,000.

Key points

Routt County commissioners approved applying Oct. 27 for a $625,000 supplemental grant, including a $125,000 county match, to replace the structurally deficient Moon Hill Bridge on County Road 56, according to the meeting recording.
The replacement is estimated at $2,453,929, which Public Works called "approximately $600,000 more" than the $1,828,125 grant the county won in 2023. Public Works Director Mike Mordi told commissioners the estimate includes about $250,000 in contingency.
The estimate's 63 posted line items add up to about $175,000 less than its stated total, by the Independent's calculation, and the request form gives two different grant figures.
Commissioners also told staff to move ahead with design of an all-electric rooftop unit for the Annex, whose cooling has failed. Staff said budgeting for it with an electrical upgrade would take about $750,000 to $800,000, roughly double the consultant's $400,000 estimate.

Routt County commissioners on Oct. 27 approved applying for a $625,000 supplemental grant, $500,000 in grant money plus a $125,000 county match, to replace the Moon Hill Bridge on County Road 56, according to the county's recording of the meeting. The project's estimate now exceeds the grant the county won in 2023.

Public Works Director Mike Mordi told commissioners the supplement would bring the grant to $2,453,625. He said the consultant's estimate includes about $250,000 for minor contract revisions, a contingency built into the bid for unforeseen work.

The two-span bridge carries County Road 56 over the Elk River at County Road 129. Built in 1972, it is rated structurally deficient, drew a poor rating in its 2024 inspection, carries posted load limits and had a sufficiency rating of 37.9 in 2022, according to county Public Works. About 204 vehicles a day crossed it in 2023.

The county won $1,828,125 in off-system bridge money in fall 2023, 80% federal and 20% local. An engineer's estimate dated March 10 puts the replacement at $2,453,929, "approximately $600,000 more than the original grant," Public Works wrote.

With the supplement, the county's total share would be $490,725, the request form says. The form reaches that share from a total grant amount of $2,453,625, which starts with a $1,828,625 grant figure that appears once on the form, rather than the $1,828,125 stated elsewhere. Without it, the county would pay any construction costs above $1,828,125.

The schedule in the request is later than the one in the county's 2025 annual report. Management's discussion in the county's 2025 annual financial report said the two-year project was budgeted half in 2026 and half in 2027. If the supplemental grant is awarded this fall, Public Works plans to bid the project in spring 2027, start construction in mid-August 2027 and finish in the latter part of 2028. Public Works wrote that CDOT recently issued utility and environmental clearances and approved the right-of-way plans, that the county hired an agent in early 2026 to begin right-of-way negotiations, and that supplemental requests were "not allowed in past years."

Timeline: fall 2023, county wins a $1,828,125 bridge grant. March 10, 2026, engineer's estimate of $2,453,929. Oct. 27, commissioners approve applying for $625,000 more, including a $125,000 county match. Ahead: bid in February or March 2027; construction starts mid-August 2027 if the supplement is awarded, with in-river work allowed only Aug. 15 to Oct. 1; construction finishes late 2028.

The 63 line items in the posted estimate add up to $2,278,743, about $175,000 less than the sheet's $2,453,929 total, by the Independent's calculation. The sheet does not show what accounts for the difference. The line items include the $250,000 for minor contract revisions that Mordi described. The Independent is asking the county what accounts for the difference.

Bar chart: the Moon Hill Bridge grant won in 2023, $1,828,125; with the $625,000 supplement, a total the county puts at $2,453,625; the engineer's estimate, $2,453,929; and the 63 posted line items, which add up to $2,278,743 by the Independent's calculation, about $175,000 less than the estimate's total. The line items include a $250,000 contingency.

Annex cooling

Commissioners also told county staff to move ahead with design work on an all-electric rooftop unit to replace the cooling system in the county's Annex building, according to the recording. The rooftop condensing unit had been "only partially functioning for many years" and has now "stopped working entirely," according to Facilities Management. The building's original air handler is also at the end of its useful life. Staff told commissioners the building's heat is not affected this winter, but that rooftop units take about six months to arrive, so the county needs to order one soon.

A consultant's options ranged from $300,000 to replace the condensing unit, to $400,000 for an all-electric rooftop unit, to $500,000 to convert to chilled water. Only the $400,000 option replaces the aging air handler, according to the report by Tolin Mechanical. The report says that option "provides the most complete equipment renewal," but that duct, structural and installation work "may materially affect cost and schedule." Staff wrote that Iconergy agreed the recommendations are the best available options.

Staff told the board the consultant's $400,000 figure assumed the building's structure and electrical service were ready, and that with an electrical service upgrade they would put about $750,000 to $800,000 in the budget, roughly double. The request had listed the cost and funding source as "TBD" and said a supplemental budget would be needed. Staff said the work would come to commissioners as an addition to the 2027 budget, and that other projects would be delayed to make room, probably including one at the Justice Center. They proposed hiring the contractor already working on the county courthouse without bidding, which they said county purchasing policy allows for a contractor under contract within the past six months.

Bar chart of the consultant's Annex cooling options: replace the condensing unit, $300,000; all-electric packaged rooftop unit that also replaces the air handler, $400,000; convert to chilled water, $500,000. County staff said Oct. 27 they would budget the rooftop option at about $750,000 to $800,000 with an electrical service upgrade.

The Independent is asking the county about the estimate's line items, the grant figure, the schedule change and the Annex cost and funding, and will update this story with any response.

What's next

Mordi told commissioners he hopes to put the bridge project out to bid next February or March, and that work in the river channel is limited to Aug. 15 through Oct. 1 to protect spawning fish. The Annex cost is expected to come to commissioners as an addition to the 2027 budget, staff said.

Sources: Routt County's Oct. 27 commissioners' agenda packet (Public Works request, engineer's estimate and Annex reports), the Oct. 5 work session packet (2025 annual financial report) and the county's recording of the Oct. 27 meeting (Part 1, Part 2).