DIVERSION CHANNEL BRIDGE OPEN

WHITEWATER -- What is described as one of the largest and most expensive rural bridges ever built in Cape Girardeau County is now open.

The 200-foot-long, concrete deck and steel pier bridge over the Diversion Channel is located on County Road 253, about three miles west of Whitewater. The bridge opened late last month.

It was constructed at a cost of $413,500, and replaces an aging, 60-year-old steel truss, wooden floor bridge with a restricted load limit. The old bridge had remained in use while the new one was under construction, and will now be dismantled and removed.

Associate Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Larry Bock said although the bridge is open to traffic, there is still some work left to be done along the approaches by the contractor, Robertson Construction Company of Poplar Bluff.

"I'm very pleased it's open," said Bock. "Now we have a bridge down there now that can handle heavy loads safely." Bock said several Delta school buses use the bridge each day as well as farmers who cross the bridge with tractors, combines and loaded grain trucks.

"The new bridge also reopens an important route between Delta and Whitewater, and points north," Bock said. "According to a traffic survey we did last spring, County Road 253 is one of the most heavily traveled county roads in Cape Girardeau County."

Bock said bridge was built 80 percent from federal funds and 20 percent county funding. Because it was partially federal funded, the bridge design was approved by state and federal highway officials. "The county's share came from the county capital trust fund, which is budgeted each year from surplus general revenue tax receipts," Bock said.

The project included widening of the approaches to the bridge, and construction of drainage ditches on each side of the approaches.

"One of our future goals is to come back and get the necessary right-of-way from the landowners to widen County Road 253, from Route N to the intersection of Route A, west of Whitewater," said Bock. "We want to raise the road in some of the low spots to prevent flooding and improve the drainage along the edge of the road.

"We have several other projects like this in mind, if we can get the landowners' cooperation. We've had requests from Neelys Landing and Allenville to raise their roads. As soon as the water goes down, we'll survey the roads and see if it is feasible to raise them high enough to keep them from flooding."