LITTLE VALLEY — Residents in the Town of Otto who have been inconvenienced since early August by the closing of a severely damaged bridge soon will have some relief following action Wednesday by the Cattaraugus County Legislature.

Acting on an immediate resolution sponsored by the Public Works Committee, a temporary bridge was authorized to replace Otto Bridge 14 damaged during the sudden flood Aug. 9-10. The bridge is on North Otto Road, a town road.

Mabey Bridge and Shore Inc. of Elkridge, Md., will provide used bridge decking for the temporary bridge for $186,057, including freight of around $1,900.

The work will reopen the area to local traffic. Permanent bridge replacement will be considered within the next two years.

Legislators also approved a new contract with Morrison Management Specialists Inc. for dietitian and nutrition services for county nursing homes at the rate of $42 an hour for 18 hours a week.

The dietitian the county had is no longer available, and the county is required to provide the services.

Following a lead from Erie County, legislators will send a similar resolution to Gov. David A. Paterson and state leaders asking for more equitable distribution of road and bridge funding to the state’s Region 5 — Western New York — based on past funding levels of state and federal money for roads and bridges.

Legislators noted state funding was cut to 4.4 percent last year from 9 percent and raised only to 6.1 percent this year.

Also, Region 5 was set to receive 6.7 percent of federal stimulus money for roads and bridges which is $30 million less than the previous 9 percent allotment.

In another immediate resolution sponsored by the Development and Agriculture Committee, a $175,000 loan was approved to NES Bearing Co. Inc. of Olean for a new plant being erected at the site of the former VanderHorst plant on Johnson Street in Olean.

The growing company projects retaining 28 full-time jobs and eight more within three years.

The company has made several presentations to legislators for the project which has acquired most of the funding through the county’s Industrial Development Agency.