Watertown City Council Receives Annual Bridge Inspection Report, One Structure Nears End of Service Life
- Steve Jurrens
- Dec 1
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council received the annual 2025 Bridge Inspection Report at tonight’s meeting (Monday, December 1), highlighting the overall safe and generally good condition of the city's 13 bridge structures. The inspection, conducted by Civil Design, Inc. (CDI) as part of an agreement with the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT), reviewed seven of the structures.
City Engineer Justin Petersen introduced the item, followed by a presentation from Chris Brozik, Principal Engineer/Vice President (Civil Design, Inc.), who summarized the findings…
Of the seven structures inspected this year, three were rated in Good condition (ratings 7-9), three in Fair condition (ratings 5-6), and one in Poor condition (rating 0-4).
The one structure rated in poor condition is a box culvert on North Lake Drive over an unnamed creek, built in 1931…
Due to its age and deterioration, Brozik stated that the structure is nearing the end of its useful life and recommended that it be considered for replacement within the next five to ten years. Despite its condition, the structure remains safe and can carry regular legal loads, and no load posting is currently required or recommended for any of the city's bridges.
The three structures rated in fair condition (Rating 6) include:
• The bridge on W. Kemp Avenue over the Big Sioux River (Built 1935). Recommendations for this "historically unique" structure focused on pedestrian-safety improvements to the railings at the approach corners.
• The bridge on 4th Avenue SW over the Big Sioux River (Built 1977). This structure shows signs of age, with recommended future preservation work to address deck delamination (caused by chlorides that cause concrete to flake).
• The longest bridge, located on 20th Avenue SE over the Big Sioux River (Built 2010). Maintenance is required to seal deck joints to prevent advanced deterioration and to arrest the movement of an elastomeric bearing pad.
Two new box culverts in the Pelican Lake area, located on 17th Ave SW and N Pelican Ln, were added to the city's inspection list this year and were found to be in Good condition, rated at 7 and 8, respectively.
The inspection results prompted questions from the council, including a discussion on the relatively new bridge on 3rd Avenue NW over the Big Sioux River (Built in 2022), which received a "Good" rating of 7. Councilman Michael Heuer questioned why a relatively new structure wasn't rated higher, closer to a nine…
Brozik confirmed that a rating of 7 is still considered Good condition, and the structure is expected to remain in that state for many years.
City Manager Alan Stager also inquired about the change in reporting methods.
Brozik confirmed that the federal highways database is moving away from the old "Sufficiency Rating" (0-100 scale) to using only the "Overall Structure Condition Rating" (0-9 scale) to provide a more straightforward way to understand condition. The remaining uninspected structures will have their ratings updated next year.
The detailed inspection findings will be used by city staff to plan for immediate maintenance, short- and long-range repairs, and, if necessary, eventual replacement.
The full report is attached below:
