COUNTY OPENS HUBBLE CREEK PROJECT BIDS

JACKSON, Mo. -- The Cape Girardeau County Commission wants assurances of state and federal funding before improving a section of Hubble Creek.

The commission opened five bids Thursday from contractors wanting to do the work. ASA Enterprises of Jackson submitted the low bid of $175,678. The engineer's estimate was $212,685.

Commissioners will consider letting the bid next week if the project receives an $80,000 state stormwater grant and $90,000 in Environmental Protection Agency funds.

The project would use riprap and sheet piling to stabilize an eroding section of Hubble Creek south of Gordonville, Mo., that threatens to undermine a bridge on County Road 228, said Dave Owen, district conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service in Jackson.

Owen helped draw up the project and has worked to secure funding.

"We have to let the contract by the end of December or lose the state grant money," he said.

The federal money flows through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Commissioners plan to meet with DNR officials this month to discuss funding.