The Mower County board is another step closer toward starting one of the biggest bridge replacement projects in recent years.

The board unanimously accepted $1.85 million in state bonds during its Tuesday meeting to replace the Oakland Place Southeast bridge, which spans Dobbins Creek on the southern end of East Side Lake.

The Austin City Council and Mower County board previously voted to approve various aspects of Icon Construction LLC’s roughly $2.6 million bid for work on the project.

Mower County Public Works Director Mike Hanson has called this one of the largest bridge project that Mower County has undertaken in many years.

Construction is slated to start Oct. 27, if not sooner, and will last through May 2017.

The bridge will be closed for the duration of the project.

The plan is to complete work by the end of May because the 11th Place Southeast bridge over Interstate 90 near the 1509 10th Place NE Kwik Trip is slated to be replaced starting in June 2017.

The Oakland Place project will include a 52-foot bridge, a 10-foot sidewalk on the north side, a 6-foot sidewalk on the south side, roadway approaches, decorative lighting, improvements at the Oakland-14th Street intersection and retaining walls between the bridge and the East Side Lake Dam.