CITY AWAITS STATE APPROVAL FOR BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

JACKSON -- The potentially dangerous Old Cape Road bridge is now in final stages of replacement plan approval, said the consulting engineer in charge of the project.

A final plan specification review will be submitted for state approval this week. Bowen said he expects to get final approval in two weeks.

The project has gone through a lengthy approval process in compliance with state guidelines in order to obtain federal funding for repairs.

Bowen said the bridge is an off-system bridge maintained by the city and must meet minimum requirements for matching funds.

"The plans must meet, among others, width, length and design loading requirements. State requirements are in a thick manual," he said.

Bowen said the bureaucracy during plan approval is what slows a project down.

"State process of approval is very necessary, but it does slow the repair process down," he said.

In October 1992, pre-plan approval was granted for the bridge replacement project.

Cost estimates, existing conditions of the bridge and other specifications were submitted at that time.

The city requested funding for repairs more than five years ago. The original cobblestone framework can still be seen.

Bowen said repairs made many years ago only entailed covering the old cobblestones with a concrete casing.

Major repairs outlined in the plan include widening the hydraulic opening to allow for water flow in Goose Creek below; increasing the width of the bridge from 35 feet to 107 feet; increasing the load rating to the highest rating and correcting a dangerous curve at the bridge location where a sidewalk is exposed to high traffic conditions.

Bowen said the new bridge will be a pre-cast pre-stressed concrete bridge.

Bowen said bids for the bridge replacement will be accepted after the final project approval is granted.

He estimates construction of the new bridge to begin in the early fall.

Old Cape Bridge Road will be closed for an estimated six months during the construction. An alternate traffic control plan will be implemented.