Contract awarded for St. Francis River bridge

Business Today

KENNETT -- A contract has been awarded for replacement of the St. Francis River Bridge southwest of Cardwell.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded the contract to Robertson Inc., Bridge and Grading of Poplar Bluff, at its meeting in Sikeston on Aug. 10. The contract, for $12,393,009 is the lowest of three bids received by the Missouri Department of Transportation on July 20.

Two other bids had been submitted, one by Penzel Construction of Jackson in the amount of $12,995,998 and the other by Robertson Contractors Inc. of Poplar Bluff for $13,528,461.

The new 2,000-foot multi-span bridge will be constructed to the north of the existing two-lane bridge. It will be four lanes wide with a center barrier dividing the lanes of opposing traffic.

Traffic will continue to use the existing outdated bridge, which was built in 1956, until the new structure is complete.

To accommodate the bridge's new alignment, the intersection of U.S. Highway 412 and Route AC will also be relocated. The new intersection will be placed approximately east of the existing intersection with turn lanes being added. The work is expected to begin this fall with completion anticipated in late 2003.

The bridge replacement project is a part of MoDOT's ongoing plan to upgrade U.S. 412 into a four-lane roadway across Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, from Interstates 55 and 155 at Caruthersville and Hayti to the Arkansas state line.