The Gallatin County Commission is set to open up bidding for the construction of a new bridge on Airport Road over the East Gallatin River at their meeting this Tuesday.

Yet, the bridge isn't the only one on their list that needs repairs.

Gallatin County Commissioners say there are a number of old bridges in the valley in disrepair.

They say repairing and replacing those bridges is a priority for them.

That's why they created a special fund for the cause, setting aside $200,000 in their budget.

"Rather than just wait for a last minute repair and then have to scramble and find the money in our budget, this way we'll be able to stay ahead of it and continually look and examine these bridges and assemble a list of priorities and make decisions based on the list," says Gallatin County Commission Chairman Steve White.

At the top of the list- a bridge on Airport Road over the East Gallatin.

Commissioners say funds to build this bridge will come from the road department.

They say it's an important bridge for the valley and gets a lot of traffic, serving folks traveling all the way from Frontage Road, near the airport, to Springhill Road.

The current bridge has a weight limit, restricting access to rural farm vehicles that need it. The new bridge, however, will allow safe passage to any vehicle within the legal weight limit.

"The big thing with all the bridges are emergency vehicles and some of those emergency vehicles are pretty heavy on the axles," explains White.

Bruce Mazuranich has a farm right by the bridge, but the weight limit forces him to only fill his grain trucks halfway or take a different route.

"Because of the weight of the grain trucks, we have to go around the bridge but, with the new bridge, it'll be nice. We can go right across the bridge and not have to worry about it anymore," says Mazuranich.

He says he's not familiar other bridges in the valley that need to be replaced, but that he's glad this one is getting the attention it deserves.

"We've been hearing about it for a couple of years now, that they've been talking about replacing this bridge and we've been wondering when," explains Mazuranich.

Commissioners say the project is expected to begin this fall and take one to two weeks to complete.

The new bridge will span 65 feet and, depending on bids, will either be made of steel or concrete.