BRIDGE WORK DELAYED

The Mississippi River bridge at Cape Girardeau won't close July 25, as earlier anticipated. The soonest the bridge could close for repairs is mid-August.

On Friday, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission did not award a construction contract for improvements to the existing bridge. The project involves replacing the asphalt driving surface of the bridge deck.

One bid was received for $474,105 from Occi, Inc., of Fulton, Mo. The bid was considerably higher than what engineers anticipated, explained Scott Meyer, district engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The highway department had planned to close the bridge Sundays through Thursdays from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning July 25 and continuing for three weeks.

Those plans are on hold until a contract is awarded.

Next week, Meyer explained, engineers will review plans and specifications for the project to see if modifications can be made. He hopes to get new bid specs out to contractors by the end of the week, so the project can be included in Missouri Department of Transportation's next bid openings set for July 23.

"That doesn't give us a whole lot of time to decide what we can do to make it more appealing to contractors," Meyer said.

The highway commission meets again the first week of August, which would be the soonest a contract could be awarded.

But no guarantee exists that a contract would be awarded in August. The same disclaimer was included in announcements of the now postponed bridge closure in July.

"We've got to tell people early about the possibility so they can make plans," Meyer said. "I'd rather get caught on the side of telling people too much."

"We will know much more regarding our course of action early next week," Meyer said. "We realize this situation puts some folks in limbo, but our goal of being up front with the public on where this project stands continues as we will keep working to provide area residents with the most up-to-date information possible."

Meyer would like to see the project completed before Labor Day.

The bridge remains safe for motorists, he said. The project represents routine maintenance. If the bridge deck wasn't repaved, Meyer said, spot repairs of potholes would be required.

Temporary repairs come with temporary closings of the bridge. Usually one lane is closed to make those repairs.

"That costs money too," he said."What I've got to weigh is how much can we spend on maintenance. How much money are we willing to put into this bridge?"

Meyer said the existing bridge is scheduled to close within three years. Construction continues on a new bridge across the Mississippi River connecting Cape Girardeau with McClure, Ill.