WALLACE — The Shoshone County commissioners have approved a plan to repair a bridge damaged during December’s flooding. 

The Amy Bridge, part of Pine Creek Road and located just over a mile from the Pinehurst city limits, had recently undergone county repairs to address significant scouring on its substructure. 

The December floodwaters wiped out much of that earlier work and also caused additional damage. Through an emergency application, Shoshone County received $100,000 from the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council to repair the bridge and repave portions of the bridge deck. 

On Wednesday, the commissioners met with Jim Roletto, an engineer and county consultant who helped prepare the LHTAC application. 

“We’re happy that LHTAC saw it our way, that it was an emergency,” Roletto said. 

Roletto presented several options for moving forward, including his recommended approach. Emergency‑classified projects must follow specific rules, but they also allow municipalities to proceed outside the standard bidding process. 

Given current conditions, including the lack of snow, Roletto recommended using a design‑build approach in which the county would select a contractor, visit the bridge site and determine the best solution. He suggested hiring Jim Cason, a former Shoshone County Public Works director who now operates his own construction company, citing their long‑standing working relationship. 

“I use him a lot and there’s a certain amount of trust there," Roletto said.

Roletto said this approach would save the county money on design and engineering costs. The alternative, putting the project out for bid, would require him to complete a project design beforehand, increasing both time and cost. 

Commissioner Dave Dose, who initially supported the recommendation, said he recently learned that at least two local companies had expressed interest in the work, prompting him to suggest an expedited bidding process. 

“Originally, I was thinking of moving forward quickly because it’s an emergency,” Dose said. “I’d like to see it fixed before we get another high-water event. But, having heard now that we have a couple of folks locally interested, in the interest of fairness, I think some kind of compromise where we get Jim to put it together in a bid.” 

Commissioners Jeff Zimmerman and Melissa Cowles agreed, and following a motion from Dose, the board voted to open the project for a three‑to‑five‑business‑day expedited bidding period. 

    The deck of the Amy Bridge has sustained severe damage during recent flooding and will be repaired and paved as part of an upcoming project.