Bassett Engineering, of Montoursville, soon will begin entering information from Lycoming County's small bridge inspection program into a database maintained by the state Department of Transportation.
When the company is finished, the county will have the most comprehensive and complete bridge inspection database in the state, according to Mark Murawski, county transportation planner.
"We will have the best bridge inspection data of any county in Pennsylvania," Murawski said Thursday during a commissioners meeting.
The commissioners approved an agreement that calls for the engineering firm to be paid up to $17,800 for the work.
"Now it's time to get that data entered into PennDOT's database," Murawski said.
The data must be entered into the database by next June, but Murawski said he anticipates it will be done much sooner than that.
The federal government requires all bridges more than 20 feet long be inspected every two years. No inspections are required for bridges less than 20 feet long, Murawski said.
Although PennDOT inspects small state-owned bridges, no program is in place for small local bridge inspections, he said.
Inspecting small, local bridges is critical due to Marcellus Shale activity in the region, he said.
In other business, the commissioners approved the submission of a recycling performance grant application to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The grant is available to the county based on the amount of recycled materials collected and processed. Last year, the county collected about 13,000 tons of recyclables, said Jason Yorks, county resource recovery manager.
That is about 1,000 tons more than was collected in 2010, Yorks said, adding that he hopes the increases continue.
The commissioners agreed to buy two pre-fabricated equipment buildings, which will be installed at the Bald Eagle and Shrivers Ridge emergency communication tower sites.
The cost of the two buildings is $126,000, said John Yingling, county Department of Public Safety director.
The commissioners approved an agreement with Schuylkill Mobil Fone, of Frackville, to provide pager service to county employees.
The three-year agreement calls for the company to provide the service for $18,000 a year, according to Anthony Rampulla, county systems support manager.
