With questions arising about Jefferson County’s financial future and other issues, Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Mountain Brook, took time to swing by Leeds Tuesday evening to discuss issues including the completion of the $1 million Grants Mill Road bridge project.

For a handful of commuters in the room — and many more across the metro area — the bridge project was of particular interest.

“There are 8,000 cars per day that can’t get over that bridge, and that’s a problem for all of us,” Blackwell said.

Closed since December 2009, the bridge could possibly be opened once again in three weeks. Because of the bridge’s new design, it should take a good amount of time and use before needing to be replaced again.

“[The old bridge] had steel in between in the bottom and steel trusses, and what they’ve done now on the new bridge, they’ve gone back and it has concrete frame in the bottom and the whole top is concrete, so it’s a lot better bridge and it will last a lot longer time,” Blackwell explained.

The concrete construction of the bridge will also more than double the weight limit, Blackwell said.

With the guardrails for the bridge going up next Friday, the bridge is expected to be turned over to the city in two weeks, pending successful outcomes of concrete tests.

At that point, the city will have some minor roadwork and cutting of trees in the right-of-way to prepare for its opening.

“This is definitely no longer the one-lane bridge it used to be,” Blackwell said, adding that the aesthetics of the old bridge will remain.

Robocalls, emails and social media usage are expected to alert the public to the official opening of the bridge.

While the crowd seemed pleased the bridge would soon be back in commission, the Jefferson County sewer and financial situations seemed to be of more concern to them.

Blackwell voiced his opinions against both the occupational tax, which recently left a $45 million shortfall in the county’s budget after it was declared invalid, and on the possibility of Jefferson County declaring bankruptcy.

“At first, I thought it was like declaring personal bankruptcy,” the freshman senator said of Jefferson County’s financial situation. “It’s really the opposite of that. The debt never goes away and you have to repay it all, plus legal fees. Then, when you go to do a bond issue, the interest rate is a lot higher. Right now, municipal bonds can get around 4 percent [interest], but we would be lucky to get 6 percent if we declared bankruptcy.”

While he was critical of the sky-high legal fees being paid to help rectify the situation, he was even more critical of Jefferson County declaring the largest municipal bankruptcy in United States history.

But, he also urged patience with the Jefferson County Commission.

“There are five new county commissioners, and they need more time to try to work this out. They’ve been on the job less than a year. I’m not a proponent of spending this much money, but it is $3.2 billion,” Blackwell said.

Once the situation is dealt with, Blackwell said the legislature can do its part by creating an independent sewer board to take the operation of municipal sewers out of the hands of politicians and to give control to those with experience in the field.

A bill has been drafted to do precisely that, which is expected to be introduced in February, when the legislature goes back into session, or in a special session, should one be called.

“The two reasons that the governor would call for a special session are costal insurance and Jefferson County,” Blackwell said. “He won’t call it for Jefferson County if we don’t have our nuts in a row. The general fund and the sewer crisis both could bankrupt the county. We need to fix one to tackle another.”